The Gweneviere Mann Foundation


The Gweneviere Mann Foundation  (GMF) was created to honor the memory of Gweneviere Mann, an accomplished musician, writer and marathon runner who overcame a brain tumor only to ten years later lose a battle with a rare form of lung cancer. Throughout her life, Gweneviere was committed to learning and growing as and artist and athlete -- and always thriving. GMF is dedicated to helping more people get scanned for brain tumor and lung cancer early so that they can thrive in life like Gweneviere did.

Gwen was a true star born to the earth who captivated everyone she met with her beautiful voice, contagious laughter, contemplative wisdom and generous loving heart. Giving boundless energy to those she held dear and even casual strangers, Gwen was a distinguished singer, pianist, songwriter, performer, and true storyteller in both San Francisco and New York City playing with local bands Stone Soup, SpunJunket, Divalicious, Wonderland, The CheeseBalls, and acapella group RoShamBo.
 
In 2008,  after Gwen recovered from a meningioma brain tumor and the short-term memory loss that occurred after its removal, she and Yasir began running together. Gwen completed seven New York City marathons and the Harrisburg marathon. She didn't stop there. She then graduated with honors from NYU with a degree in creative writing, attended Juilliard for music theory, and was accepted into Columbia’s MFA program. She harnessed her challenges to inspire her music and writing and recorded a new album and was working on her memoir. 10 years after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, a rare form of lung cancer took her life on July 22, 2018 at the age of 47. 77% of people with this type of cancer are non-smokers.

Gwen and Yasir's inspiring love story was chronicled by StoryCorps  through audio, animation, and Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude from the First Ten Years of StoryCorps, a book by by founder Dave Isay. Their story was also featured by HowStuffWorks' Committed Podcast in May of 2018  and  August of 2018, a PBS  special, NPR, Women's Health magazine, TED, Huffington Post, and The Washington Post.

Gwen will always be remembered for her singing, storytelling, unconditional love for others, and ability to bring humor and laughter to the everyday occurrences she found around her.