Sarah Kiskadden-Bechtel, MBe, is the Executive Director of the Academy, where she leads the organization’s mission of advancing best practices for medical aid-in-dying. She brings over a decade of expertise in bioethics, public policy, and nonprofit leadership to the role.

A colleague of the Academy since its 2020 inception, Sarah stepped into the Executive Director position in January 2026. Her career spans HIV/AIDS prevention, tuberculosis control, and end-of-life autonomy. She holds an MBe from Columbia University and a BA from Bard College, and serves as Adjunct Faculty in Columbia University’s Master’s in Bioethics program and Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Voices in Bioethics. She sits on the IRBs of Carson Tahoe Health and Carthage Area Hospital and is a member of the Empire State Bioethics Consortium.