A statement from Max More:

When I joined Alcor in 1986, I couldn’t know that I would eventually take on the role of President & CEO. When I accepted that role, I was concerned that I wouldn’t last long. The average tenure at that time was 2.6 years and, for the most recent six presidents, it averaged 1 year 3.25 months. When I stepped down on Friday May 14, of this year, I had served for 9 years, 4.5 months (or, as I like to think of it: 3,425 days).

Times change and organizational needs change. New people with new skills step up. Alcor has been transitioning from the almost all-volunteer organization of the 1970s and 1980s to the desperately underpaid organization of the 1990s and early 21st century to an increasingly professional non-profit. The complexity of Alcor’s operations – remarkably but necessarily high for an organization of this size – calls for highly-trained and qualified personnel.

When I was taken on as President at the end of 2010, I came aboard with modest experience managing non-profits, over a decade of studying numerous aspects of business, and a pretty good understanding of Alcor’s functions. With the support of staff and board, I managed to initiate or shepherd through advances in many areas:

We moved a good portion of Alcor’s operating and reserve funds out of holdings that I saw were being eroded by inflation into investments designed to generate a reasonable return over the medium term. In 2016, for instance, this generated earnings of $102,649. Among other financial changes, I raised almost six million dollars in donations, and brought about cost savings in electricity, liquid nitrogen, and other areas; increased the financial allowance for members to relocate to Scottsdale if they are terminal; introduced alternative funding options and long-term member discounts, and reductions in membership dues; and moved the budget from in the red to in the black.

I still feel enthusiastic about talking to the media and the public about cryonics, even after doing so hundreds of times. I have done numerous television, newspaper, magazine, podcast, and book interviews; greatly improved the appearance of the Patient Care Bay and the inside of the building; created and developed the Alcor YouTube channel; introduced attorneys, financial planners, and others to Alcor through special tours; improved relations with medical institutions; and led the last round of major upgrades to Alcor’s website.

Over the last decade, I have also:

• Overseen and participated in dozens of cryopreservations.
• Fostered a culture that looks for ways to improve rather than being overly attached to past practices and equipment.
• Reintroduced the SCCD (for circulating ice bath water to accelerate cooling).
• Facilitated new research, such as the c. elegans work, the brain-only initiative, the CT scanning project, and many internal technical improvements.
• Pushed (with limited success) to upgrade our IT infrastructure, including adoption of a CRM (Salesforce), better group collaboration forums, new timecard system, and online/cloud-based accounting. Achieved backup of patient and member files to the cloud.
• Pushed to generate SOPs and to have new people trained as backup for some core positions.
  Introduced additional surgeons to our on-call list.
• Improved international response capabilities.
• Pushed for adoption of better guidelines for optimal temperature for transitioning from cardiopulmonary support to surgery and perfusion.
• Chaired two successful conferences.
• Improved security.

As Alcor keeps growing and becoming ever more complex, the time has come for someone with more managerial and executive experience to take over as CEO. I will still be active in full-time, but I’m relieved to say that we have an excellent person to take over the CEO duties in Patrick Harris. Patrick’s experience in large companies – and his own focused and determined personality – has equipped him with the knowledge and practical skills to lead and develop team, plan tactically and strategically, and execute efficiently on the other roles that form the chief executive position.

I won’t be going anywhere. My new role comes with the rather grand title of “Ambassador and President Emeritus”. This describes my new role:

The Ambassador and President Emeritus will report directly to the Alcor Board of Directors, using his long experience and involvement in cryonics, many contacts, institutional knowledge and decade of experience as Alcor’s President and CEO, in fulfillment of the following activities:

• Engage in strategic thinking, planning, and marketing by both board assignment and independent initiative, communicating with the board and CEO. This includes identification of individuals and organizations with whom strategic alliances and involvement may be beneficial. Participate in fundraising in coordination with the Fundraising Committee.
• Serve on the Deployment Committee per board appointment according to terms of the Deployment Policy.
• Engage in public communications on behalf of Alcor, including lectures, interviews, facility tours, and networking, in coordination with other staff as appropriate. Participate in conference planning.
• Write for Alcor News, Alcor’s Facebook page, Cryonics magazine, and the Alcor website in coordination with the editors of these publications. Serve on the Editorial Board of Cryonics magazine. Make contributions to the organization’s internal wiki to document procedures and policies.
• Participate in a new round of website upgrades.
• Under the direction of the Medical Response Director assist with case logistics planning as needed during deployments, assist in the facility as may be needed during cryopreservations, and monitor facility procedures and adherence to SOPs.
• Facilitate Research Committee discussions and votes as may be required. Report to the board at least quarterly or as requested on activities of the Research Committee including progress and status of funded projects, and balance of Research Fund relative to commitments.
• Participate in organization legal affairs as required.
• Participate in board meetings and email deliberations along with other senior staff.
• Monitor the health of the organization on an ongoing basis.

I look forward to serving the organization for another ten years.

Patrick Harris and Max More, greeting in pandemic style.

Bonnie Magee, Vice President of Finance has decided, after 10 years, to leave the employ of Alcor Life Extension Foundation. She is a long-time cryonicist and Alcor member and we value the contributions she has made and her dedication to Alcor. We wish her the best in her future endeavors. If you have any membership questions you can continue to reach out to Diane Cremeens, Director of Membership at and for any billing questions to Marji Klima, Director of Operations at .

Novel coronavirus and the associated COVID-19 pandemic is a top priority at Alcor. The health and safety of our valued Members, staff, and strategic partners is of paramount importance. With the announcement of travel bans and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declaring COVID-19 as a pandemic, Alcor is taking this threat very seriously. Updates on COVID-19 outbreaks are evolving rapidly and we are actively tracking the situation.

Rest assured, should the need arise, it is Alcor’s policy that we will respond to COVID-19 cases and we will advocate with officials and healthcare providers so we can provide the highest quality cryopreservation for our Members / Patients. Out of an abundance of caution, Alcor has taken and is taking the following steps to prepare to support our valued Members:

• We proactively ordered medications, supplies and personal protective equipment for our standby, stabilization, and transport (SST) teams before inventory became unavailable. We are fully stocked and prepared to handle higher case volumes, if necessary.
• We are hosting planning calls with our strategic partners, Suspended Animation (SA) and International Cryomedicine Experts (ICE), to ensure SST professionals are prepared for case work.
• Alcor, SA, and ICE will coordinate SST to deliver the highest level of care to our Members / Patients that is possible with circumstances that exist.
• Alcor will enhance our Watchlist to include members that test positive for COVID-19 and we will collaborate with SST professionals for rapid deployment.
• Alcor Staff members will be allowed to work remotely for non-mission critical functions during this time to mitigate exposure to COVID-19 so they can be in optimal health when case(s) present. Additionally, Alcor will be suspending tours of our facility.
• Alcor has postponed a training event that was to be held in New York in April with numerous attendees and other events planned for later this year are carefully being reconsidered.
• Alcor and its partners are monitoring regulations for transport of human remains and human tissue infected with novel coronavirus. According to direct communication from the U.S. State Department, there are no new domestic restrictions for remains transport as of March 12. International cryonics patients will be maintained in dry ice if there are delays in obtaining importation permits, and/or converted to neuropreservation on an emergency basis if serious obstacles to importation of infected whole bodies are encountered.

Some of our Members have expressed interest in relocating, temporarily or permanently, to Scottsdale, AZ. Alcor does not have a specific recommendation regarding relocation because each Member has a unique set of circumstances. However, if a Member wishes to explore relocating closer to Alcor, we are happy to answer questions. International travel is not recommended for members residing in the U.S. due to the possibility of becoming seriously ill while abroad. The recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) should be followed for domestic travel.

You should contact your healthcare provider if you develop any symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath not related to existing conditions. Your healthcare provider will be able to make a recommendation on if you should come to the office, emergency department, or stay home. If you do test positive for COVID-19, or are hospitalized for any reason, please notify Alcor immediately. Alcor recommends that our Members maintain good hygiene and monitor updates as directly posted by the CDC and WHO.