The International Remote Viewing Association (IRVA) was organized on March 18, 1999, by select scientists and practitioners meeting in Alamogordo, New Mexico, in conjunction with the first professional conference on remote viewing that was being held in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The founders of IRVA were Hal Puthoff, the co-founder of SRI’s remote viewing program; David Hathcock, the organizing facilitator and a retired business executive; John Alexander, a retired US Army Colonel in Special Forces and Intelligence; Lyn Buchannan, a former US Army remote viewer and trainer; Paul H. Smith, a former US Army remote viewer and trainer; Skip Atwater, a former US Army RV unit operations and training officer; Angela Thompson Smith, a RV researcher, author, and trainer; Macello Truzzi, a Professor of Sociology at Eastern Michigan University; Russell Targ, the co-founder of SRI’s remote viewing program; and Stephan Schwartz, an author and remote viewing researcher.

The objective of IRVA was to create an organization that would provide a mechanism for evaluating the discipline called “remote viewing” (RV), encourage scientifically sound research, propose ethical standards, and provide overview educational information to the remote viewing community and general public. IRVA’s primary goal was to provide an unbiased approach relative to information, training, research, and education regarding remote viewing.

IRVA’s continuing major tasks are to maintain a credible and responsible remote viewing focused internet site which presents key existing published scientific findings, newly-breaking scientific published articles, current educational options and considerations, remote viewing practice targets, community discussion forums, remote-viewing related videos, easy access to the CIA Stargate Archives, and remote-viewing related event listings.