Sarah Kiskadden-Bechtel, MBe, brings over a decade of expertise in bioethics, public policy, and nonprofit leadership to the Academy’s mission of advancing compassionate end-of-life care.

Her career spans HIV/AIDS prevention, tuberculosis control, and end-of-life autonomy. She holds an MBe from Columbia and a BA from Bard College, and is an Adjunct Faculty at Columbia University’s Master’s in Bioethics program and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Voices in Bioethics. She serves on the IRBs of Carson Tahoe Health and Carthage Area Hospital, and is a member of the Empire State Bioethics Consortium.

A colleague of the Academy since its 2020 inception, Sarah was welcomed as the Executive Director in January 2026.