Over the next two years we plan to try to find new actionable interventions to improve animal welfare, further analyze nuclear risks, use polling to find winning policy changes, study EA movement growth, and much more.
About the Team
Marcus A. Davis—Lead Researcher
Marcus A. Davis works on Rethink Priorities strategy and oversees research. He previously co-founded Charity Science Health, where he systematically analyzed global poverty interventions, led cost-effectiveness analyses, and oversaw all technical aspects of the project. Before joining the Charity Science Health team, he ran Effective Altruism Chicago and worked with Rethink Charity coordinating outreach to local EA groups around the globe.
Peter Hurford—Lead Researcher
Peter Hurford works on Rethink Priorities strategy and oversees research. He also is a Data Scientist at DataRobot. He co-founded Rethink Charity, and is on the board of Charity Science Health and Animal Charity Evaluators. He has reviewed and produced research on cause prioritization and effective altruism since 2013.
David Moss—Senior Research Analyst
David Moss is a Senior Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. He previously worked for Charity Science and has worked on the EA Survey for several years. David studied Philosophy at Cambridge and is an academic researcher of moral psychology.
Kim Cuddington—Research Analyst
Kim Cuddington is a Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities and is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. She has a PhD in Zoology, a Masters in Biology, and a Masters in Philosophy. She also has a background in ecology and mathematical modeling.
Derek Foster—Research Analyst
Derek Foster is a Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. He studied philosophy and politics as an undergraduate, followed by public health and health economics at master’s level. Before joining RP, Derek worked on the Global Happiness Policy Report and various other projects related to global health, education, and subjective well-being.
Luisa Rodriguez—Research Analyst
Luisa Rodriguez is a Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities and a Visiting Researcher at the Future of Humanity Institute. Previously, she conducted cost-effectiveness evaluations of nonprofit and government programs at ImpactMatters, Innovations for Poverty Action, and GiveWell.
Saulius Šimčikas—Research Analyst
Saulius Šimčikas is a Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. Previously, he was a research intern at Animal Charity Evaluators, organized Effective Altruism events in the UK and Lithuania, and worked as a programmer.
Neil Dullaghan—Junior Research Analyst
Neil Dullaghan is a Junior Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in Political and Social Science at the European University Institute. He has volunteered for Charity Entrepreneurship and Animal Charity Evaluators. Before joining RP, Neil worked as a data manager for an online voter platform.
Jason Schukraft—Junior Research Analyst
Jason Schukraft is a Junior Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. Before joining the RP team, Jason earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. Jason specializes in questions at the intersection of epistemology and applied ethics.
Daniela R. Waldhorn—Junior Research Analyst
Daniela R. Waldhorn is a Junior Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. She is a PhD candidate in Social Psychology, and has a background in management and operations. Before joining RP, Daniela worked for Animal Ethics and for Animal Equality.
Ask Us Anything
Please ask us anything—about the org and how we operate, about the staff, about our research… anything!
Also, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that we’re currently fundraising! We are funding constrained and have the management capacity and hiring talent pool to quickly grow if given more money. We accept and track restricted funds by cause area if that is of interest.
We’re Rethink Priorities. AMA.
Hi there,
We’re the staff at Rethink Priorities and we would like you to Ask Us Anything! We’ll be answering all questions tomorrow on Friday, 13 December.
About the Org
Rethink Priorities is an EA research organization focused on influencing funders and key decision-makers to improve decisions within EA and EA-aligned organizations. You might know of our work on the impact of cage-free corporate campaigns, invertebrate welfare as a cause area, the risk of nuclear winter, or running the EA Survey, among other projects. We spend 80% of our time working on research relevant to farmed and wild animal welfare. You can see all our work to date here.
Over the next two years we plan to try to find new actionable interventions to improve animal welfare, further analyze nuclear risks, use polling to find winning policy changes, study EA movement growth, and much more.
About the Team
Marcus A. Davis—Lead Researcher
Marcus A. Davis works on Rethink Priorities strategy and oversees research. He previously co-founded Charity Science Health, where he systematically analyzed global poverty interventions, led cost-effectiveness analyses, and oversaw all technical aspects of the project. Before joining the Charity Science Health team, he ran Effective Altruism Chicago and worked with Rethink Charity coordinating outreach to local EA groups around the globe.
Peter Hurford—Lead Researcher
Peter Hurford works on Rethink Priorities strategy and oversees research. He also is a Data Scientist at DataRobot. He co-founded Rethink Charity, and is on the board of Charity Science Health and Animal Charity Evaluators. He has reviewed and produced research on cause prioritization and effective altruism since 2013.
David Moss—Senior Research Analyst
David Moss is a Senior Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. He previously worked for Charity Science and has worked on the EA Survey for several years. David studied Philosophy at Cambridge and is an academic researcher of moral psychology.
Kim Cuddington—Research Analyst
Kim Cuddington is a Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities and is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. She has a PhD in Zoology, a Masters in Biology, and a Masters in Philosophy. She also has a background in ecology and mathematical modeling.
Derek Foster—Research Analyst
Derek Foster is a Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. He studied philosophy and politics as an undergraduate, followed by public health and health economics at master’s level. Before joining RP, Derek worked on the Global Happiness Policy Report and various other projects related to global health, education, and subjective well-being.
Luisa Rodriguez—Research Analyst
Luisa Rodriguez is a Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities and a Visiting Researcher at the Future of Humanity Institute. Previously, she conducted cost-effectiveness evaluations of nonprofit and government programs at ImpactMatters, Innovations for Poverty Action, and GiveWell.
Saulius Šimčikas—Research Analyst
Saulius Šimčikas is a Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. Previously, he was a research intern at Animal Charity Evaluators, organized Effective Altruism events in the UK and Lithuania, and worked as a programmer.
Neil Dullaghan—Junior Research Analyst
Neil Dullaghan is a Junior Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in Political and Social Science at the European University Institute. He has volunteered for Charity Entrepreneurship and Animal Charity Evaluators. Before joining RP, Neil worked as a data manager for an online voter platform.
Jason Schukraft—Junior Research Analyst
Jason Schukraft is a Junior Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. Before joining the RP team, Jason earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. Jason specializes in questions at the intersection of epistemology and applied ethics.
Daniela R. Waldhorn—Junior Research Analyst
Daniela R. Waldhorn is a Junior Research Analyst at Rethink Priorities. She is a PhD candidate in Social Psychology, and has a background in management and operations. Before joining RP, Daniela worked for Animal Ethics and for Animal Equality.
Ask Us Anything
Please ask us anything—about the org and how we operate, about the staff, about our research… anything!
You can read more about us in our latest EA Forum post update or visit our website rethinkpriorities.org
If you’re interested in hearing more, please consider subscribing to our newsletter.
Also, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that we’re currently fundraising! We are funding constrained and have the management capacity and hiring talent pool to quickly grow if given more money. We accept and track restricted funds by cause area if that is of interest.
If you’d like to support our work, you can find donation instructions at https://www.rethinkpriorities.org/donate or you can email Marcus at marcus@rtcharity.org.