Caroline Ellison, the former Alameda Research CEO and collaborator and partner of Sam Bankman-Fried, has joined Manifund, a nonprofit that funds artificial intelligence safety and effective altruism projects. Cofounder Austin Chen announced the hire on Friday, saying Ellison will develop the organization’s funding platform and research how to direct philanthropic dollars.

The arrangement predates the announcement. Chen said Ellison began a work trial on July 13 and converted to a full-time role on Aug. 10, publishing work and supporting Manifund users under the pseudonym “Carol.” Chen said she built a reconciliation tool that caught several misregistered transactions in Manifund’s database worth five and six figures. He also apologized for what he called a “minor deception” in using the pseudonym. “I believe in redemption,” Chen wrote, citing Ellison’s admissions, her work to make creditors whole and her prison term.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

Manifund sits inside the effective altruism ecosystem the FTX Future Fund bankrolled, and Chen said the Future Fund seeded Manifold and paid for the retreat that pulled him into EA.

The response was immediate and mostly hostile. Cate Hall wrote that the decision showed “terrible judgment” and would damage the reputation not just of Manifund but of EA organizations that would take collateral damage. Another commenter worked through Chen’s stated reasons and argued that almost all were personal rather than business ones, asking whether the role had been posted publicly or other candidates considered. Ellison said she was grateful to be judged on her current work rather than her past, and that she would not reply to comments.

Ellison pleaded guilty in December 2022 to fraud and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to two years in September 2024. She began the sentence that November and was released in January after 440 days, credited for cooperation and good conduct. A separate SEC consent judgment bars her from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years, a restriction that does not reach a nonprofit role.

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