Information for Berkeley Existential Risk Initiative

Table of contents

Basic information

Item Value
Country United States
Website http://existence.org/
Launch date 2017-01-01
Last recorded date when we made major data updates for this org 2025-10-29
Donations List Website (data still preliminary)

Positions count by year

Hover over a name to see the position and date range. This table only includes positions where at least the start date is known. The positions count can count the same person multiple times if they held different positions; similarly, the list of staff may include the same person multiple times if they held more than one position during a single year. For each year, a person is included if they were at the organization for any part of the year; this means the actual staff count at any point during the year can be lower (or higher, if some staff held multiple positions in a single year).

Year Positions count Researchers General staff Associates Board members Advisors
2017 16 Andrew Critch, Gina Stuessy, Jeremy Schlatter, Kenzi Amodei, Kenzi Amodei, Kyle Scott, Michael Keenan, Rebecca Raible Andrew Critch, Eric Rogstad, Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Malo Bourgon, Qiaochu Yuan, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh Andrew Snyder-Beattie
2018 22 Andrew Critch, Colleen Gleason, Gina Stuessy, Jeremy Schlatter, Josh Jacobson, Kenzi Amodei, Kenzi Amodei, Kyle Scott, Michael Keenan, Rebecca Raible, Rebecca Raible Alex Flint, Andrew Critch, Eric Rogstad, Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Malo Bourgon, Matt Fallshaw, Qiaochu Yuan, Sam Bankman-Fried, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh Andrew Snyder-Beattie
2019 20 Andrew Critch, Colleen Gleason, Jeremy Schlatter, Josh Jacobson, Kenzi Amodei, Kyle Scott, Kyle Scott, Rebecca Raible, Sawyer Bernath, Sofia Davis-Fogel Alex Flint, Andrew Critch, Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Malo Bourgon, Matt Fallshaw, Qiaochu Yuan, Sam Bankman-Fried, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh Andrew Snyder-Beattie
2020 17 Andrew Critch, Josh Jacobson, Kenzi Amodei, Kyle Scott, Kyle Scott, Sawyer Bernath, Sawyer Bernath, Sawyer Bernath, Sofia Davis-Fogel Andrew Critch, Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Malo Bourgon, Matt Fallshaw, Sam Bankman-Fried, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Stuart Russell
2021 12 James Paul Gonzales, Jess Riedel, Kenzi Amodei, Sawyer Bernath Andrew Critch, Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Malo Bourgon, Matt Fallshaw, Sam Bankman-Fried, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Stuart Russell
2022 15 Ian Baker James Paul Gonzales, Jess Riedel, Kenzi Amodei, Sawyer Bernath Andrew Critch, Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Kyle Scott, Malo Bourgon, Matt Fallshaw, Sam Bankman-Fried, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Sofia Davis-Fogel, Stuart Russell
2023 15 Ian Baker Elizabeth Cooper, James Paul Gonzales, Jess Riedel, Kenzi Amodei, Sawyer Bernath Andrew Critch, Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Kyle Scott, Malo Bourgon, Matt Fallshaw, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Sofia Davis-Fogel, Stuart Russell
2024 22 Ian Baker, Joseph Castellano, Nada Madkour Elizabeth Cooper, Elizabeth Cooper, Gary Menezes, James Paul Gonzales, Jess Reidel, Jess Riedel, Kayla Blomquist, Kenzi Amodei, Sawyer Bernath, Scott Singer Andrew Critch, Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Kyle Scott, Malo Bourgon, Matt Fallshaw, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Sofia Davis-Fogel, Stuart Russell
2025 21 Deepika Raman, Ian Baker, Joseph Castellano, Krystal Jackson, Nada Madkour Andreas Pashos, Cierra Johnson, Elisabeth Siegel, Elizabeth Cooper, Gary Menezes, James Paul Gonzales, Jess Reidel, Karuna Nandkumar, Kayla Blomquist, Kenzi Amodei, Lara Lincoln, Michael Jemison, Sarah Otis, Sawyer Bernath, Scott Singer Andrew Critch

Number of full-time staff at the beginning each year

The following table lists some dates and people who were at the organization on the given date (namely, the start of the year). The table may not list every person who worked for the organization (e.g. they could have joined and left in the middle of a single year). This table excludes associates, interns, advisors, and board members.

Date Staff count Staff
2018-01-01 8 Andrew Critch, Gina Stuessy, Jeremy Schlatter, Kenzi Amodei, Kenzi Amodei, Kyle Scott, Michael Keenan, Rebecca Raible
2019-01-01 7 Andrew Critch, Colleen Gleason, Jeremy Schlatter, Josh Jacobson, Kenzi Amodei, Kyle Scott, Rebecca Raible
2020-01-01 6 Andrew Critch, Josh Jacobson, Kenzi Amodei, Kyle Scott, Sawyer Bernath, Sofia Davis-Fogel
2021-01-01 2 Kenzi Amodei, Sawyer Bernath
2022-01-01 4 James Paul Gonzales, Jess Riedel, Kenzi Amodei, Sawyer Bernath
2023-01-01 5 Ian Baker, James Paul Gonzales, Jess Riedel, Kenzi Amodei, Sawyer Bernath
2024-01-01 6 Elizabeth Cooper, Ian Baker, James Paul Gonzales, Jess Riedel, Kenzi Amodei, Sawyer Bernath
2025-01-01 10 Elizabeth Cooper, Gary Menezes, Ian Baker, James Paul Gonzales, Jess Reidel, Joseph Castellano, Kayla Blomquist, Kenzi Amodei, Nada Madkour, Scott Singer

Full history of additions and subtractions

This table shows the full change history of positions. Each row corresponds to at least one addition or removal of a position. Additions are in green and subtractions are in red. If a position name changed, it is listed simultaneously as an addition (of the new name) and removal (of the old name) and colored yellow. Additionally there are faded variants of each color for visited links.

Date Number of positions Number of positions added Number of positions removed Positions added Positions removed
2017-02-01 7 7 0 Andrew Critch, Andrew Critch, Andrew Snyder-Beattie, Eric Rogstad, Gina Stuessy, Michael Keenan, Qiaochu Yuan
2017-03-17 9 2 0 Malo Bourgon, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh
2017-04-14 10 1 0 Jacob Tsimerman
2017-05-01 11 1 0 Kenzi Amodei
2017-07-01 12 1 0 Kenzi Amodei
2017-08-01 13 1 0 Rebecca Raible
2017-10-01 14 1 0 Kyle Scott
2017-10-03 15 1 0 Jaan Tallinn
2017-11-01 16 1 0 Jeremy Schlatter
2018-03-01 15 0 -1 Rebecca Raible
2018-03-08 12 0 -3 Gina Stuessy, Kenzi Amodei, Michael Keenan
2018-03-21 13 1 0 Colleen Gleason
2018-06-01 14 1 0 Matt Fallshaw
2018-07-01 15 1 0 Rebecca Raible
2018-08-01 16 1 0 Sam Bankman-Fried
2018-09-01 15 0 -1 Eric Rogstad
2018-09-03 16 1 0 Josh Jacobson
2018-11-01 17 1 0 Alex Flint
2019-01-04 16 0 -1 Qiaochu Yuan
2019-02-01 14 0 -2 Andrew Snyder-Beattie, Rebecca Raible
2019-03-01 15 1 0 Kyle Scott
2019-03-02 14 0 -1 Colleen Gleason
2019-04-01 13 0 -1 Jeremy Schlatter
2019-04-16 12 0 -1 Kyle Scott
2019-06-01 13 1 0 Sofia Davis-Fogel
2019-07-01 14 1 0 Sawyer Bernath
2020-01-01 14 1 -1 Stuart Russell Alex Flint
2020-02-01 15 2 -1 Kyle Scott, Sawyer Bernath Sawyer Bernath
2020-02-17 14 0 -1 Kyle Scott
2020-05-01 12 0 -2 Josh Jacobson, Kyle Scott
2020-08-01 11 1 -2 Sawyer Bernath Andrew Critch, Sawyer Bernath
2020-10-01 10 0 -1 Sofia Davis-Fogel
2021-07-02 11 1 0 Jess Riedel
2021-08-01 12 1 0 James Paul Gonzales
2022-01-01 13 1 0 Sofia Davis-Fogel
2022-06-01 14 1 0 Ian Baker
2022-08-07 15 1 0 Kyle Scott
2022-09-01 14 0 -1 Sam Bankman-Fried
2023-02-01 15 1 0 Elizabeth Cooper
2024-06-01 19 4 0 Joseph Castellano, Kayla Blomquist, Nada Madkour, Scott Singer
2024-08-11 20 1 0 Gary Menezes
2024-09-24 11 0 -9 Jaan Tallinn, Jacob Tsimerman, Jess Riedel, Kyle Scott, Malo Bourgon, Matt Fallshaw, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Sofia Davis-Fogel, Stuart Russell
2024-11-01 10 1 -2 Elizabeth Cooper Elizabeth Cooper, Sawyer Bernath
2024-11-06 11 1 0 Jess Reidel
2025-02-01 12 1 0 Lara Lincoln
2025-02-14 13 1 0 Sawyer Bernath
2025-04-01 12 0 -1 Andrew Critch
2025-07-01 13 1 0 Andreas Pashos
2025-08-01 17 4 0 Deepika Raman, Elisabeth Siegel, Karuna Nandkumar, Krystal Jackson
2025-08-08 20 3 0 Cierra Johnson, Michael Jemison, Sarah Otis

List of people (52 positions)

Person Title Start date End date Employment type Source Notes
Elizabeth Cooper Executive Director 2024-11-01 full-time [1], [2]
Lara Lincoln Special Projects Manager 2025-02-01 full-time [3], [2]
Andreas Pashos Program Manager 2025-07-01 part-time [4], [2]
Cierra Johnson Bookkeeper 2025-08-08 contractor [4], [2]
Ian Baker Research Engineer 2022-06-01 full-time [5], [2]
James Paul Gonzales Executive Assistant 2021-08-01 full-time [6], [7], [8], [2]
Sarah Otis Operations Assistant 2025-08-08 full-time [4], [2]
Michael Jemison Intern 2025-08-08 intern [4], [2]
Nada Madkour Researcher 2024-06-01 [9], [10]
Deepika Raman AI Standards Development Researcher 2025-08-01 [4], [10]
Krystal Jackson AI Standards Development Researcher 2025-08-01 [4], [10]
Joseph Castellano Executive Research Assistant 2024-06-01 [9], [10]
Kayla Blomquist Co-Director 2024-06-01 full-time [9], [10]
Scott Singer Co-Director 2024-06-01 full-time [9], [10]
Karuna Nandkumar Head of Policy Programmes 2025-08-01 full-time [4], [10]
Elisabeth Siegel Head of Events & Dialogues 2025-08-01 full-time [4], [10]
Gary Menezes Web Developer 2024-08-11 full-time [11], [10]
Jess Reidel Treasurer 2024-11-06 board member [12], [10]
Sawyer Bernath Secretary and Director 2025-02-14 board member [13], [10]
Kenzi Amodei Deputy Director 2017-05-01 [14]
Andrew Critch Board chair 2017-02-01 2025-04-01 part-time [15], [16]
Kenzi Amodei Interim Deputy Director 2017-07-01 2018-03-08 [17], [18], [19]
Rebecca Raible Writer and Operations Manager 2017-08-01 2018-03-01 part-time [17], [18], [20]
Rebecca Raible Program Manager: Grants and Awards 2018-07-01 2019-02-01 part-time [21], [22]
Kyle Scott Project Manager 2017-10-01 2019-04-16 [23], [24]
Kyle Scott Operations Manager 2019-03-01 2020-02-17 full-time [25], [26]
Kyle Scott Operations Manager 2020-02-01 2020-05-01 part-time [26]
Gina Stuessy Operations Consulting 2017-02-01 2018-03-08 [15], [18], [19]
Michael Keenan IT Support 2017-02-01 2018-03-08 [15], [18], [19]
Andrew Snyder-Beattie Advisor 2017-02-01 2019-02-01 [15], [18], [22]
Jeremy Schlatter Software Engineer 2017-11-01 2019-04-01 [27]
Colleen Gleason Operations & Finance Manager 2018-03-21 2019-03-02 full-time [28]
Sam Bankman-Fried Board advisor 2018-08-01 2022-09-01 advisor [29], [30]
Eric Rogstad Board treasurer 2017-02-01 2018-09-01 board member [31], [15], [18], [32]
Qiaochu Yuan Board secretary 2017-02-01 2019-01-04 board member [15], [18]
Alex Flint Board secretary 2018-11-01 2020-01-01 board member [22], [33], [34]
Josh Jacobson Collaboration Manager & Project Manager 2018-09-03 2020-05-01 full-time [35], [36]
Sofia Davis-Fogel Project Manager 2019-06-01 2020-10-01 full-time [37], [34]
Sawyer Bernath Project Manager 2019-07-01 2020-02-01 [38]
Sawyer Bernath Deputy Director 2020-02-01 2020-08-01 [38]
Sawyer Bernath Executive Director 2020-08-01 2024-11-01 [38]
Andrew Critch Executive Director 2017-02-01 2020-08-01 [15], [18], [39]
Elizabeth Cooper Deputy Director 2023-02-01 2024-11-01 full-time [1], [40]
Jess Riedel Treasurer & Director 2021-07-02 2024-09-24 board member [41], [42]
Jaan Tallinn Board advisor 2017-10-03 2024-09-24 advisor [43], [42]
Jacob Tsimerman Board advisor 2017-04-14 2024-09-24 advisor [44], [42]
Kyle Scott Board Advisor 2022-08-07 2024-09-24 advisor [45], [42]
Malo Bourgon Board advisor 2017-03-17 2024-09-24 advisor [15], [42]
Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh Board advisor 2017-03-17 2024-09-24 advisor [15], [42]
Sofia Davis-Fogel Board advisor 2022-01-01 2024-09-24 advisor [30], [42]
Stuart Russell Board advisor 2020-01-01 2024-09-24 advisor [31], [42]
Matt Fallshaw Board advisor 2018-06-01 2024-09-24 advisor [22], [46], [47], [42]

Products (0 products)

Name Creation date Description

Organization documents (3 documents)

Title Publication date Author Publisher Affected organizations Affected people Document scope Cause area Notes
Comment on After one year of applying for EA jobs: It is really, really hard to get hired by an EA organisation 2019-02-27 Aaron Gertler Effective Altruism Forum Centre for Effective Altruism, Open Philanthropy, Machine Intelligence Research Institute, Ought, Vox, AI Impacts, Center for Human-Compatible AI, Berkeley Existential Risk Initiative Job application experience Various Gertler describes his experience applying to various effective altruism-related organizations.
Comment on After one year of applying for EA jobs: It is really, really hard to get hired by an EA organisation 2019-02-26 Max Daniel Effective Altruism Forum Open Philanthropy, OpenAI, Berkeley Existential Risk Initiative, Centre for Effective Altruism, Future of Humanity Institute, AI Impacts Daniel gives his experience applying to various effective altruist organizations, detailing the time he spent on applications and preparation.
After one year of applying for EA jobs: It is really, really hard to get hired by an EA organisation 2019-02-25 EA applicant Effective Altruism Forum Open Philanthropy, Centre for Effective Altruism, Future of Humanity Institute, Effective Giving UK, Rethink Charity, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Global Priorities Institute, Ought, Veddis, Berkeley Existential Risk Initiative A pseudonymous effective altruist gives their experience applying to various effective altruist (and related) organizations.

Documents (0 documents)

Title Publication date Author Publisher Affected organizations Affected people Affected agendas Notes

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