Job Opening: Chief Executive Officer

Alcor Life Extension Foundation is accepting resumes for the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This person will have overall responsibility for all of Alcor’s business activities at the Scottsdale facility and at all locations where these activities take place, including staffing, facilities, supplies, equipment, and finances to carry out these activities. This person will set yearly goals with the Alcor Board of Directors (Board) and report to the Board quarterly on accomplishments and milestones. The CEO will consult with and receive direction from the Board regarding major issues and decisions. The CEO’s operations, activities, and responsibilities include managing and overseeing the following:

  1. Patient Maintenance: Maintaining patients in appropriate cryonic storage conditions according to Alcor operating procedures, with zero deviation from Alcor-allowed tolerances; monitoring storage conditions to provide adequate warning of possible deviation from allowed tolerances; providing adequate backup of equipment, supplies, staff, and services to prevent any such deviation.
  2. Standby, Stabilization, and Transport: Managing and working closely with the Medical Response Director (MRD) in responding appropriately to member potential life- threatening situations or deaths per direction from the Deployment Committee. This includes being prepared for such deployments with adequately trained staff, equipment, and supplies, and establishing agreements where necessary with outside organizations (such as Suspended Animation and Interational Cryomedicine Experts), physicians, paramedics, EMT’s, etc., as necessary. It also includes coordinating volunteers who may assist with standby, stabilization, and transport and establishing relationships with hospitals, hospices organizations, funeral directors, etc.
  3. Cryopreservations: Overseeing the carrying out of cryopreservations of members with the highest possible quality according to Alcor procedures and member documented wishes, and transitioning members into patient maintenance.
  4. Fundraising: Engaging with the Alcor community and interested thought leaders to bring resources to Alcor, the Patient Care trust, the Endowment, the Research fund, and other projects that benefit the advancement of cryonics.
  5. Research: Working with the Research Committee to prioritize and oversee projects related to research and development in cryonics. These projects can include development efforts for equipment in the Alco facility, reviews of previous cases, funding third party projects in the cryobiology space, or anything else deemed important to the advancement of the science or practice of cryonics.
  6. Documentation: Documenting all Alcor member standby, stabilization, transport, and cryopreservation activities, primarily through case reports and Salesforce member database updates completed and/or published within 90 days of cryopreservation completion. It also includes documenting deployments which did not result in cryopreservation, actively maintaining and updating a complete “watch list” with
    information about members at near-term risk of requiring standby, and inquiring of members at least yearly in order to update their cryonics-pertinent medical information.
  7. Membership Activities: Managing prospect and member inquiries and member sign-up and support process and all related documentation, and maintaining and updating the Salesforce member database as well as all membership paper files. Also included is producing membership reports as requested by the Board and other staff, and providing membership statistics for regular periodic reports and for Alcor News.
  8. Finance and Accounting: Managing finance and accounting functions and reporting as they relate to operational activities, budgeting, and forecasting, and managing the Controller functions as they relate to these activities. (Operational finance and accounting is differentiated from Treasury functions, which manage investments and liaise regarding Alcor Care Trust activities.)
  9. All Building(s) and Facilities leased by Alcor
  10. Organizing, staffing and managing personnel to carry out operational activities, and developing, documenting, and maintaining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs on the Alcor Wiki) for all operations activities.
  11. Representing Alcor: In consultation with the Board, acting as the spokesperson, or designating someone to act as a spokesperson for Alcor to the media, public officials, or other people and organizations seeking information or official statements from Alcor, and at conferences and other outside gatherings.

Minimum job qualifications:

  • Regular Alcor cryopreservation membership and a demonstrable understanding of and long-term commitment to cryonics philosophy and principles
  • Basic understanding of Alcor’s history, structure, and operations, and basic understanding of cryonics technology and the cryopreservation process from standby to patient maintenance
  • Basic understanding of business operations principles and processes, including sales, fundraising, finance and accounting, legal, human resources, information technology, and asset management
  • At least three years of successful management experience in a commercial or non-profit organization, with direct responsibility for staff, budget, and management of some aspect of operations

Desirable qualifications:

  • Long-term Alcor membership
  • Bachelor’s degree or higher, preferably in a business, medical, or life sciences field
  • Working experience in a medical related field
  • Fundraising experience, preferably in a non-profit

Send resume and cover letter to: 

Deployment Committee

Deployment Committee
To better determine when a standby would be initiated and at what level, a Deployment Committee has been established. Comprised of Executive Director Jennifer Chapman, Transport Coordinator Aaron Drake and Chief Medical Advisor Steven Harris. Collectively the committee will review the details of a medical procedure or condition and evaluate the level of response and monitoring Alcor will undertake per its Comprehensive Member Standby program.

Improving Alcor’s Capabilities

In February 2009 Alcor initiated an ambitious and coordinated effort to improve its training, stabilization, and cryopreservation capabilities. Alcor’s new Transport Coordinator and paramedic Aaron Drake is undergoing thorough education about the objectives and technologies of cryonics. Aaron will also play an important part in Alcor’s national training program. An innovative questionnaire is being created and refined to track and map all individuals that are available for case work listing their specific skills and experience. One room in the Alcor building is currently being transformed to a designated “readiness room” to track and monitor capability and (potential) cases. This week will also see the return of periodic case simulations at the Alcor building.

Alcor is further undergoing a comprehensive review of its standby kit inventory list, equipment, and protocols. Our short term objective is to quickly restore physical capabilities in areas with high numbers of Alcor members. When new equipment is made available to these areas, training sessions will be organized to educate medical professionals and volunteers about its use. The Alcor R&D committee will be engaged in a detailed review of stabilization technologies and protocols. After evaluating the available technical options for induction of hypothermia, cardiopulmonary support, and remote blood washout in terms of cost, effectiveness, and operation requirements, decisions will be made about which technologies to adopt and corresponding documentation will be generated.

The Alcor Transport Technicians policy will be reviewed to eliminate waste and strengthen its incentive structure. A closer look at Alcor’s capabilities and protocols in non-US countries such as the United Kingdom will be another priority for the organization.

Ongoing and specific progress reports on these topics will be published on the Alcor news blog and in Cryonics magazine. Please contact if you have any suggestions or want to be part of this endeavor.

Florida Standby

Alcor recently performed a 13-day standby for a member in Florida who was hospitalized for medical reasons and an emergency procedure. Alcor was prompted to launch a standby under the Comprehensive Member Standby (CMS) program, an especially good idea because there were medical factors complicating the surgery. First notice of the case arrived late afternoon, and that evening we deployed 3 Alcor personnel (who collectively have dozens of cases experience) by commercial aircraft with a full remote stand-by and stabilization kit.

The kit included a portable ice bath, full medications, mechanical chest compressor for cardiopulmonary support, Air Transportable Perfusion system for remote blood washout, and advanced monitoring equipment. This was the first field test of our new compact kit system, and it appeared to have everything we anticipated needing. Suspended Animation, Inc, helped us by providing coverage during the flight, assistance with coverage during surgery, and by providing a truck and compressed air tanks which relieved us of the need to locally procure those items ourselves.

Fortunately, the member’s condition improved, and transport was not required despite the lengthy standby.

Readiness

We have ordered fourteen ice bath frames, which once constructed, will bring our ice bath inventory to 16. These new design icebaths fold into a package that is transportable by air, but is inexpensive and rapid to assemble. This is the first step, and one of the longest manufacturing lead-time items, in building our new stabilization kits.

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Update on Recent Progress

When the Alcor management changed in September 2005 to the current team, we developed a new policy of not talking about what grand plans we have for the organization, instead choosing to talk about things that we have completed. We implemented this policy change because the management team (consisting of Steve Van Sickle, Jennifer Chapman, and myself) were disappointed members. We were all weary of the empty promises, the distinct lack of improvement in technical capability and the lack of responsible fiscal oversight. We very deliberately set out to rebuild Alcor into an organization of which we could be proud, and we were enthusiastic about bringing positive change. Though it is a lengthy process, in my opinion we are succeeding, and we’d like to present a little perspective on the changes of late and on the challenges yet ahead.

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