Her Story
About Cindy
Cynthia Dunkle serves as Chief People Officer at Denali Therapeutics Inc, a biotech company based in South San Francisco, California. She has been with the company for 11 and a half years and brings 30 years of experience in the industry. In her role, she oversees human resources, facilities, operations, and Environmental Health and Safety. Dunkle earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Metropolitan State University. She is a member of BioComm and BAHREC. Outside of her professional responsibilities, she volunteers on the board of Life Science Cares and serves as vice chair on the board of Biohive. Dunkle attributes her success to gratitude and learning from life events, including navigating a childhood illness with her own child and caregiving for adults at the end of life, while recognizing the value of science in developing medicines to relieve human suffering. She advises that sideways moves or detours are not failures but opportunities to build range, and encourages young women entering the field to strive for understanding rather than perfection to support continued growth. Her core values are trust, unity, grit, and growth. She notes that the biggest challenge in her field is the war on talent for highly scientific roles requiring advanced degrees such as PhDs and MDs, as the talent pool shrinks.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Cindy
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to gratitude and learning from life events, recognizing how precious our time is here and being able to give back, whether through navigating a childhood illness with my own child or caregiving for adults at end of life, and understanding the value of science in developing medicines to relieve human suffering.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received is that a sideways move or detour aren't failures, they're how you build range.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Rather than strive for perfection, strive for understanding so that you give yourself the best opportunity for continued growth and development.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is the war on talent, particularly the education and experience required for highly scientific roles needing advanced and terminal degrees like PhDs and MDs, with fewer people seeking that advanced training, making the talent pool shrink even as we consider the world our footprint.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Trust, unity, grit, and growth are the values most important to me.
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