# Rachel Schneider

> Rachel Schneider is the founder and CEO of Canary, a New York fintech that lets employers and donors give tax-free emergency cash grants to workers in crisis. Before building software, she spent years studying how American families actually handle money - co-authoring the acclaimed book The Financial Diaries with economist Jonathan Morduch - and held senior roles at Merrill Lynch, the Aspen Institute, and the Financial Health Network. Canary turned that research into a product: a confidential application that moves money to people at the moment they need it most.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Canary
- **Organizations:** Canary (Canary Benefits, Inc.), Financial Health Network, Aspen Institute, Merrill Lynch
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** J.D./M.B.A., University of Chicago, B.A., University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Founded and leads Canary, an employee emergency relief platform, Co-authored The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty (Princeton University Press, 2017), The Financial Diaries won the 2018 Silver Medal in Economics at the Axiom Business Book Awards and a 2018 Silver Medal at the Independent Publisher Book Awards

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Vice President of Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch
- **2000s** — Associate Director of the Initiative for Financial Security at the Aspen Institute
- **2010s** — Senior Vice President at the Financial Health Network (formerly the Center for Financial Services Innovation)
- **2017** — Co-authored The Financial Diaries with Jonathan Morduch (Princeton University Press)
- **2018** — Omidyar Network Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
- **2019** — Founded Canary and became CEO
- **2020** — Launched Canary's emergency relief platform in October
- **2023** — Featured among Built In NYC's startups to watch; Canary surpasses $1M distributed to employees

## Achievements

- Founded and leads Canary, an employee emergency relief platform
- Co-authored The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty (Princeton University Press, 2017)
- The Financial Diaries won the 2018 Silver Medal in Economics at the Axiom Business Book Awards and a 2018 Silver Medal at the Independent Publisher Book Awards
- Built the U.S. Financial Diaries research, tracking 235 low- and middle-income families over a year (with Jonathan Morduch)
- Backed by Capital One Ventures; raised roughly $4.35M total funding
- Distributed over $1 million in emergency relief to employees in financial hardship

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Profiled by HR Brew on helping HR leaders bring generosity to the workplace.
- **2024-10** — Argued in BenefitsPRO that corporate-sponsored relief funds offer an immediate lifeline for employees in crisis.

## Links

- Website: https://workwithcanary.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-schneider-canary
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtzUXEBRN48

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rachel-schneider
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-21