2020 was a year of tremendous growth for Lifespan.io. As many of you have likely noticed, our news outlet team has hired two more excellent science journalists, Arkadi Mazin and Greg Gillipsie.
Nicola Bagala, who produces LifeXtenShow, was assigned in the summer of 2020 to supervise one more important project, Lifespan News, with Brent Nally as host. 29 informative episodes have already been released, covering the latest news in aging research and related fields.
Javier Noris, the lead of the Longevity Investor Network, is now developing another important project, the Longevity Impact Fund. Javier talked about the initiative at the EARD2020 conference, and we will have more to say about this exciting initiative soon. With these great developments, we are optimistic about the future, and we expect 2021 to be a productive year.
As a non-profit organization, we are constantly seeking ways to make a high impact in our fight against age-related diseases and aging itself. To this end, we have made a number of changes to our team that will lay the foundations for our future growth.
A new marketing coordinator
Mattijs Vonk, who has been with us as an illustrator and social media analyst for quite a while now, has been promoted to the position of marketing coordinator.
Matt’s work has been instrumental in creating the look of our website, and he is the creative hand behind our new logo and many of the wonderful posters, brochures, and reports we produce. He started at Lifespan.io in 2017 as a graphics volunteer, gradually increasing his responsibilities to also include more marketing tasks and social media analysis. Over the last year, he has done an impressive job in helping us with structuring and measuring our social media impact by carefully developing the tools and procedures to track and extend our coverage.
We are happy to announce that as of January 1st, 2021, Mattijs has stepped up to manage the newly formed marketing department as Marketing Coordinator. He’ll be leading the team of social media specialists from now on, making sure that we reach as many people as we possibly can with our newsmaking and education initiatives.
Mattijs was born in The Netherlands. He studied at Radboud University in Nijmegen and University of Applied Sciences in Groningen and graduated with two master degrees in Communications and Marketing. Mattijs has extensive experience as a Communication and Marketing Consultant at a wide array of companies in the Netherlands, both in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Besides that, he has been a graphic designer for over 15 years, mostly working as a freelancer. Mattijs currently resides with his wife and two year old son in the Netherlands but is planning on moving to France in the near future.
I’m very happy to get the opportunity to expand my Marketing work at Lifespan.io. I hope to do my part to help the organization and the longevity movement grow even further. We’re on the cusp of some big developments and I’m pleased to get the chance to be close to the action.
Fundraising Consultant
We have ambitious plans for the future, and in order to grow our numerous initiatives, we’ll be expanding our fundraising efforts. We welcome Rosemary Opbroek as our new Fundraising Consultant. On January 1st, 2021, she has joined us to strengthen our fundraising department.
Rosemary is based in Nebraska and has been involved in nonprofit management since the 1990s. With twelve years as Executive Director of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, ten years with the March of Dimes, and two and a half years as a Regional Director for the Epilepsy Foundation of America, Rosemary brings a wealth of experience to our organization.
As a very new member of this team (I am a fundraiser, not a scientist), I came to Lifespan.io with limited knowledge about the science of rejuvenation biotechnology. I was immediately impressed by the dedication, energy, and incredible intellectual capacity of this group. I’m proud to be a part of this amazing endeavor.
Chief Operating Officer
Many of our regular readers will be familiar with our board member Elena Milova and the incredible work that she has done regarding education and advocacy for the longevity movement.
In the last few years, she has been an important factor in our growth, bringing structure and order to our organization, regularly coming up with impactful business administration initiatives.
We are delighted to announce that on February 1st, 2021, Elena has stepped up to become the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Lifespan.io while proceeding with her duties as a board member. It will be her challenge to implement the optimization and development plans approved by the board. Moving forward, she will oversee the planning and day-to-day work of every department, helping with optimizing business processes and coordination. Apart from that, Elena will lead the development of the Fundraising department.
Elena graduated with honors from both Moscow Region University (linguistics) and later New Russian University (psychology). She gained experience in communications, project management, and administration when working at Ipsen Pharma and the advertising agency Medinform of TWIGA Group. Her interest in ending aging first sparked in 2010. After several years of working in local non-profit organizations promoting longevity, she joined Lifespan.io team as a board member and Outreach Coordinator in 2016.
In line with her plans of becoming a longevity entrepreneur, Elena is currently halfway through her MBA program.
My work with Lifespan.io taught me that to make dreams come true, enthusiasm alone is not enough. Ending aging is a large goal, and our approach to work should be equally serious if we want to succeed. I am touched by the trust that my fellow board members put in me and my vision. I will continue to bringing my best insights and skills to the team in my new role of an integrator so that we can hit new records in informing the public every year.
We are recruiting
On a related note, we are currently recruiting for a part-time social media manager to join our organization; if you are interested in this position, check out the job description.
Thank you
We’d like to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who has helped us along our journey. This support is what enables us to continually improve the strength of our team and better serve you all on our shared mission to overcome the diseases of aging. Thank you.