Our Team
After Wallace Coulter died in 1998, Sue Van began assembling her team. Every member of Sue’s’ team is highly experienced in business practices within their respective domains. Together, they continue to learn how to work within the not-for-profit sector and introduce industry’s best practices to their partners.
Sue Van
Sue is the President and CEO of the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation. She has fiduciary responsibility for the vision, strategic plan and operations of the Foundation. Sue is integrally involved in every aspect of its programs, from creation to implementation and establishing the criteria for success.
The Foundation continues Wallace’s practice of providing risk capital for innovative initiatives through its grant programs. The Translational Research Partnership Program promotes academic translational research based in biomedical engineering. By implementing industry best practices, this process accelerates the translation of promising university innovations into practical advances that improve patient care. The Biomedical Societies Program supports leading medical societies to bring the latest education and standards of care to resource-limited countries. The Asian-American Pacific Islander Program focuses on building a consortium among organizations to establish one cohesive community to promote collaboration and partnership in civic engagement and health disparities.
Prior to establishing the Foundation in 1999, Sue was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Coulter Corporation, responsible for the company’s long term strategy, as well as its financial and legal affairs. Coulter was the leader in global diagnostics that created and built the market for automated hematology which made blood cell testing affordable and accessible for the world. Sue converted leasing from a domestic financing tool to a global marketing strategy that insured market dominance. She negotiated the acquisition of the first ever leveraged buyout of a Japanese company by a foreign entity.
Sue was born in Shanghai, China, and immigrated to the United States at the age of five. She has a B.A. in Political Science from American University, and M.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University.
Wayne Barlin
Wayne is Vice President and General Counsel of the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation. He joined the Foundation in January 1999. Prior to this position, Wayne was Corporate Counsel and Secretary of Coulter Corporation. He joined Coulter in 1978 as a tax attorney. He became corporate counsel in 1981, and was involved in all major company transactions, including the sale of the company to Beckman Instruments, Inc. in October 1997. Prior to joining Coulter, he was in private practice. Wayne holds a BS in finance and accounting from the University of Connecticut and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC
Eduardo Callejas
Eduardo is Operations Manager for the Foundation which he joined upon its creation in 1998. Although he is involved in all aspects of work within the Foundation, his emphasis is in humanitarian programs that deal with rural education and health. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Eduardo join Coulter Corporation in 1982. He worked in the Immunology Division holding the position of manager of Animal and Raw materials. Among his duties, he managed the production of monoclonal antibodies and other biological raw materials for the company. From 1990 until the formation of the Foundation in 1998, Eduardo served as personal assistant to Wallace H. Coulter and Sue Van.
Susan Racher
Susan is Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Foundation, which she joined in 1998. Susan is in charge of the endowment’s investment portfolio, including a portfolio of health care venture capital investments. She also oversees the tax; accounting; and compliance and is part of the grant team. Prior to joining the Foundation in 1998, Susan was a Senior Managing Director of Bank of America’s Florida Group, in charge of the bank’s $4 billion in capital committed to Florida corporations. Susan was named as “Small Foundation Investment Manager for 2013” by Institutional Investor Magazine. She has a B.A. from Smith College in English and Economics, and an M.B.A from the University of Chicago in Finance and Accounting.
Susie Sands
Susie is Vice President of the Asian American Program. Susie joined the Foundation in April of 2011, after 15 years of retirement. Her previous career spanned twenty years in the field of investment securities and wealth management and was a Vice President with Blyth Eastman Paine Webber, Citigroup/ Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley. Blyth Eastman Paine Webber was responsible for seeding the early growth of the biotechnology industry and helped bring the first drugs to commercialization for Genentech, Amgen, and Genzyme. She has a Masters in NonProfit Studies in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration.
Greg Thornton
Greg is Controller for the Foundation. His responsibilities include financial reporting, tax compliance, and IT. In addition, Greg is integrally involved in every program of the Foundation providing financial oversight. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2001, Greg spent nine years in public accounting, including managing his own consulting firm. He worked for Coulter Corporation and University of Miami as an internal auditor. Greg is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated with a BBA in Accounting from University of Miami.
Dennis Van
Dennis joined the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation as Director of Asian American Pacific Islander Programs in May 2014. He assists with implementation and execution of strategies for the AAPI comprehensive civic engagement program. Dennis has 25 years of experience in the areas of brokerage, banking and wealth management. He was a former Vice President of Wells Fargo’s Wealth Management Group and has held various positions in sales, marketing, product/project/relationship management and training in the financial services industry. Dennis has a B.S. in Applied Economics from the University of San Francisco.
Joan Van
Joan joined the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation as Director, Asian American Programs in 2010. She manages programs and initiatives for the Asian American Program, working at the Asian Pacific Fund in San Francisco as Corporate and Community Liaison. Prior to joining the Foundation Joan spent over 20 years as Senior Advertising Account Executive at Comcast and AT&T working with national clients including United Airlines, McDonalds, Toyota and American Express. Joan holds dual bachelor degrees in Accounting and Management Information Systems from the University of Arizona.