About Me

I live in the Boston area, with my wife (Julia) and kids (Lily, Anna, Nora). Professionally I used to be a programmer but now lead the Nucleic Acid Observatory at SecureBio. Julia and I donate half of what we earn to the most effective charities we can find. I also play in several dance bands. Everything on this site is me speaking in my personal capacity, unless labeled otherwise.

Online Identities

• Facebook jefftk
• Reddit cbr
• Hacker News jefftk
• LessWrong jkaufman
• Effective Altruism Forum Jeff Kaufman
• Mastodon @jefftk@mastodon.mit.edu
• Bluesky @jefftk.com
• Substack

Press

• Effective Altruism
  • Washington Post, 2013-05-31: Join Wall Street. Save the world.
  • Daily Mail, 2013-06-02: The young professionals who believe their best chance at trying to save the world is by joining Wall Street and making millions.
  • Vox, 2014-12-16: 20 charts that will fill you with guilt and regret.
  • The Guardian, 2015-09-22: Extreme altruism: should you care for strangers at the expense of your family?
  • The New York Times, 2015-10-05: 'Strangers Drowning,' by Larissa MacFarquhar
  • Quartz, 2015-10-09: This couple lives on 6% of their income so they can give $100,000 a year to charity.
  • The Boston Globe, 2015-10-10: 'Strangers Drowning' by Larissa MacFarquhar.
  • Daily Mail, 2015-10-11: Meet the couple who live on six per cent of their income so they can give away $100,000 a year 'to whoever needs it most'
  • CBS Boston, 2015-10-13: Family Gives Away Half Their Income To Help Others (video)
  • WenXue City 2015-10-13: The couple who have been donating more than 30% income to charity for the past 7 years. (Chinese)
  • Yahoo Parenting 2015-10-14: Why These Parents Give Half Their Salary—$128K—to Charity Each Year
  • Sunday Mid-Day 2015-10-18: Little is more
  • Today News 2015-10-23: Couple donates half of income every year to treat world health
  • CNN NewDay 2015-10-17: Could you give up half your salary every year to help others?
  • Goldstein on Gelt 2015-11-15 How Your Money Can Make an Impact On the World (youtube)
  • La Presse 2015-12-22: They Give Half Their Salary (French)
  • BBC 2021-12-02: Would you give 10% of your salary to charity?
  • Vox 2022-08-08: How effective altruism went from a niche movement to a billion-dollar force
  • Time 2022-08-10: Want to Do More Good? This Movement Might Have the Answer
  • On Point 2022-12-21: How the collapse of FTX put the effective altruism movement in jeopardy (36:53-42:09)
• Biosecurity
  • Transformer, 2025-03-23: The quest to build better defenses for AI risks
  • NOTUS, 2025-08-09: RFK Jr. Touted a CDC Biosurveillance Program That Doesn't Appear to Exist Yet
• Apartment Price Map
  • WBUR, 2013-01-30: What The Cost Of Renting An Apartment In Boston Looks Like.
  • BostInno, 2013-01-30: These Apartment Heat Maps Prove Just How Much Rent in Boston Increased Since 2011.
  • Boston Magazine, 2013-01-30: Boston's Crazy Rental Prices.
• Contra Dance
  • New York Times, 2018-04-03: It's Sweater Weather Forever (group photo)
  • Daily Hampshire Gazette, 2020-01-25: Contra dancing: Where square meets swing
  • Boston Globe, 2023-05-14: Somerville PorchFest returns with live performances, lots of dancing

Living

Schooling

Full Time Work