Caroline Ellison, the former Alameda Research CEO, has joined Manifund, a nonprofit that funds artificial intelligence safety and effective altruism projects.
Austin Chen, Manifund’s cofounder, announced the hire on Friday. He said Ellison will work on the organization’s funding platform and research how philanthropic dollars should be directed. Chen also said the arrangement was in place before the public announcement.
Trial began in July and became full-time in August
According to Chen, Ellison began a work trial on July 13 and moved into a full-time role on Aug. 10. Before her identity was disclosed, she had been publishing work and supporting Manifund users under the pseudonym Carol.
Chen said Ellison built a reconciliation tool that caught several misregistered transactions in Manifund’s database, involving amounts in the five and six figures. He also apologized for what he called a minor deception related to the use of the pseudonym.
“I believe in redemption,” Chen wrote, pointing to Ellison’s admissions, her work to make creditors whole, and her prison term.
FTX Future Fund ties returned to the spotlight
Manifund sits within an effective altruism network that had previously been backed by the FTX Future Fund. Chen said the Future Fund seeded Manifold and paid for the retreat that brought him into effective altruism.
The reaction was immediate, and it was mostly hostile.
Cate Hall wrote that the decision showed “terrible judgment” and would damage the reputation not only of Manifund but also of effective altruism organizations that would take collateral damage.
Another commenter went through Chen’s stated reasons and argued that almost all of them were personal rather than business reasons, while asking whether the role had been posted publicly or whether other candidates had been considered.
Ellison says she wants to be judged on current work
Ellison said she was grateful to be judged on her current work rather than her past, and said she would not respond to comments.
Guilty plea, prison sentence and release
Ellison pleaded guilty in December 2022 to fraud and conspiracy charges. She was sentenced in September 2024 to two years in prison, began serving that sentence in November, and was released in January after 440 days, with credit for cooperation and good conduct.
A separate consent judgment with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission bars her from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years. That restriction does not apply to a nonprofit role.