Sarah Kiskadden-Bechtel, MBe is Director of Public Policy and Programming at the Completed Life Initiative. She watched her aunt Kathy, a Christian Scientist, die from metastatic breast cancer at 57 years old after ignoring a lump for months due to her religious basis for rejecting modern medicine. Considerations of what it means to live a good life, and how to die well, reverberate for her every day.

Ms. Kiskadden-Bechtel is an innovative and strategic problem-solver who has devoted her career to untangling oft-misunderstood and oft-stigmatized issues at the heart of human experience. Her expertise in stigmatized issues ranges from researching the impact of cultural traditions on the spread of HIV/AIDS in Swaziland, to facilitating a globally significant CDC award-winning clinical research study in tuberculosis control via electronic monitoring for patient adherence to treatment at New York City public health clinics. Now, as Director of Public Policy and Programming at CLI, she leads the Initiative’s research development and programming efforts.

As the first Program Director of CLI, Ms. Kiskadden-Bechtel was instrumental to launching CLI’s Inaugural 2020 Fall Conference, which attracted over 800 virtual participants worldwide. At CLI, she has honed her expertise in establishing alliances with individuals and organizations; spearheading non-profit strategy, growth, and community engagement; and creating and implementing expansive bioethics programming that is accessible for audiences worldwide. Since CLI’s inception, Ms. Kiskadden-Bechtel has implemented numerous Town Halls, Lunch Hours, Panel Discussions, Symposia, launched the Voices of the Completed Life Podcast and kickstarted the Annual Summer Arts Festival – all of which are available for viewing on CLI’s video archive.

In addition to running the Completed Life Initiative, Ms. Kiskadden-Bechtel teaches as an Associate in the Masters of Bioethics program at Columbia University, specifically “Law and Bioethics” and “Organizational Ethics.” She serves as a member of the Carson Tahoe Health Institutional Review Board; Carthage Area Hospital Institutional Review Board; and is Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Voices in Bioethics: An Online Journal. In addition, she is a member of the Empire State Bioethics Consortium. 

Ms. Kiskadden-Bechtel earned a Master of Science in Bioethics from Columbia University, and is a graduate of Bard College with a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies. Her undergraduate thesis focused on Ancient Greek Medicine and translating Hippocrates’ Prognostic. She is an avid seeker of the “happy medium” in life, especially to emulate the Latin phrase mens sana in corpore sana, a healthy mind in a healthy body. Her weekly solace is shabbat, and she is a beginning violinist, enthusiastic cook, yogi, rock climber, and explorer of the Shawangunk mountains. She lives in New York City with her husband.