Our Vision

We see a world where cancer patients and caregivers are empowered with the knowledge and resources they need to access the right care at the right time. 

Our Mission

Navvisa’s mission is to give every cancer patient and caregiver a trusted clinical partner at their side to guide and support them throughout their cancer journey.

Our Story

Our co-founders, Nabeel and Vanessa, were united by a shared vision: to untangle the complexities of navigating cancer care. They each nave a personal experience with cancer. For Nabeel, it was watching his friend’s family struggle through the cancer process. For Vanessa, it was feeling overwhelmed by her mother’s cancer diagnosis despite her 20-year career in biotech oncology.

Buoyed by their shared belief in what technology could offer in delivering personalized cancer guidance, they assembled a team invested in the mission of providing personalized cancer navigation services to patients and caregivers.

What Does Navvisa Mean?

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is like waking up in a foreign land without maps, guidebooks, or knowledge of the language.
We think of our guidance as providing the Navigational maps and Visa passport for the journey.

Our Team

“My Mother was diagnosed with cancer while I was working in oncology, and I still felt lost. Managing her care became a second full-time job.”

Vanessa Johnson

Co-Founder, CEO

Experience: MPH, My Health Concierge Co-Founder, Genentech, Biogen/IDEC, Celgene

“As a nurse, I often listened to cancer patients and caregivers struggle. Then I became one and experienced that pain myself. Now we have a way to really help.”

Joan Forte

Chief Clinical Officer

Experience: RN, MBA; Stanford Health Care, Director, Strategic Patient Care; Co-Founder, Tandem Health

“A friend was diagnosed with cancer, and the family found themselves in a foreign land with a new language. I felt there had to be a better way.”

Nabeel Quryshi

Co-Founder, CTO

Experience: Evera Co-Founder, 23andMe Research, Harvard, CS/Molecular Biology

"When a routine CT scan revealed 100s of tumors, my mom had to make difficult decisions about aggressive surgery and chemotherapy."

Ken Stineman

Co-Founder, COO

Experience: Ginger, Genomic Health, Double-Helix, Incyte, Intel, Princeton Electrical Engineering

“I have seen cancer from many vantage points, as a clinician, researcher, advocate and most impactful asa survivor of two types of cancer. I understand the importance of guiding others through the struggles and challenges.”

Kim Garlinghouse

Nursing Lead

Experience: RN, MPH, Good Medicine, C2lt, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt

"It took me an excruciating 13 months to get a lung cancer diagnosis as a non-smoker in my 40s, so I begged Vanessa to let me join Navvisa in order to help others."

Lexi Bisbee

Sr. Project Manager

Experience: MBA, Krames / Staywell, Healthco Solutions, Stanford, UCLA

“I am very connected to cancer because one of my family members is dealing with a challenging diagnosis.”

Bart Black

Head of Sales

Experience: Walmart, Well Health, Teladoc, American Express, FedEx

"Watching my mother fight cancer was incredibly hard. Not being able to help her through it was unbearable. There has to be a better way to help those we love.”

Lana Khavinson

Marketing Advisor

Experience: Facebook, LinkedIn, Intuit, Yahoo, American Express

Our Team of Oncology Nurses

Affiliations: UCSF, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, UCLA, Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute, University of Vermont, and more.

Our Advisors

David Kaplan, MD

Experience: Global Leader for Clinical Solutions, Mercer; Board Member / Senior Advisor / Consultant for companies in the Employee Healthcare marketplace

Elizabeth Thompson

Experience: Chairman / CEO Transcend 4Good; President, Susan G. Komen for the Cure; CEO, Lymphoma Research Foundation; President/CEO, C-Change

Jerrod Helms

Experience: Chief Commercial Officer at DarioHealth; Head of Sales, Ginger; VP of Sales, Humana; Sr. Executive, for various Employee Benefits companies

Maureen Achebe, MD

Experience: Clinical Director, Div. of Hematology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Medical Director, Ambulatory Infusion Center, BWH; Harvard Medical School

Renee Albert

Experience: Facebook, Senior Director, Health, Benefits, Well-being; McKesson, Director, Health Care Strategy, Symantec Corporation, Senior Director Global Benefits