A leading expert on understanding and measuring the connection between human wellbeing and biodiversity conservation, Beth Allgood has more than 25 years of experience in conservation and community development. She has developed approaches to measure and support community wellbeing in biodiversity and climate work to create more sustainable outcomes for people and wildlife. Beth was recently named one of the Explorers Club’s “Fifty People Changing The World, The World Needs To Know About.” She is a consultant and advisor to several organizations and a member of three International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Commissions. Before founding OneNature, Beth was the U.S. director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare and has worked for USAID, World Wildlife Fund, National Wildlife Federation, Peace Corp Headquarters, and The Nature Conservancy. Beth has a master’s degree in business management from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from James Madison University.

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Bio coming soon.

Kelly Burley is the director of Common Bonds, a network of local, state, and national animal welfare organizations united by a common goal to increase Oklahoma’s shelter animal save rate to 90 percent by 2025. Kelly builds relationships with government-run and non-profit animal shelters, municipalities, and community stakeholders. He also works to raise awareness of Oklahoma’s shelter animal population and euthanasia challenge with the public. Previously, Kelly led NPR member station KOSU (2008- 2019), raising more than $14 million to expand the station’s local content services through collaborative journalism, music, and community programming initiatives while building new broadcast studios and radio frequencies. In earlier content development roles with KOSU, Kelly received three national Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association and two Scripps Howard National Journalism Awards. From 2003 to 2008, he served as associate state director with AARP Oklahoma, communicating association priorities with the state’s 400,000 members.

Dr. Sean Butler has been a Fellow of St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge for some 20 years, where he has taught Roman law, intellectual property law, and animal rights law. He is also an affiliated lecturer in the Faculty of Law at Cambridge, where he lectures animal rights law. He studied law at the University of Oxford (St. Edmund Hall) and the LSE, London, as well as genetics at Cambridge, before taking his Ph.D. in social science at Imperial College, London. With Dr. Raffael Fasel, he co-founded the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law and co-authored the textbook Animal Rights Law (Hart Publishing 2023). He has published books, articles, and book reviews. His primary research interest is animal rights law, which he wants to develop into a widely-taught subject around the world.

Katie Campbell is the director of collaboration and outreach for RedRover, with more than 15 years of experience in the non-profit world. She has worked with diverse communities across racial, ethnic, and economic lines in positions ranging from front line service to management roles. This has included working closely with survivors of domestic violence, as well as other individuals at risk, and with many non-profits serving these communities. In partnership with Greater Good Charities’ Rescue Rebuild Program, Katie created and spearheads the Don’t Forget the Pets collaborative project. The project aims to support and connect representatives from animal welfare organizations and human services organizations to create pet housing programs to support people and pets in crisis.

Allison Cardona joined the University of California, Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program in January 2022 as California state director. She manages the $37.5 million California for All Animals grant program funded by the State to help animal shelters reduce the euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals. Previously, she worked as deputy director for the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. In that role, she oversaw three full-service animal care centers, a communications center, public relations, adoption partners, behavior and enrichment, and volunteer programs. Allison also served as liaison to the County’s homeless initiative, ensuring that people experiencing homelessness have options and resources for their pets. She also participated in the County’s anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion initiative, assisting with the implementation of an anti-racist policy agenda. The proud daughter of Colombian immigrants, Allison is deeply committed to racial justice and equity work. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner, Yvonne, and beloved dogs, Emma and Dito.

Meg Daley Olmert is a world-renowned expert on the neurobiology of the human-animal bond and its therapeutic effects. Her groundbreaking book, Made for Each Other: The Biology of the Human-Animal Bond, published in 2009, was the first to trace the evolution of this ancient bond to the emerging neuroscience that underlies this most powerful interspecies phenomenon. She is a subject expert, author, and lecturer on the therapeutic effects of the human-animal bond. Her two TEDx talks have been viewed by tens of thousands. She currently serves as science advisor and proud board member of The Comfort Dog Program of Northern Uganda. Meg also was a co-creator of Warrior Canine Connection’s Mission Based Trauma Recovery Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Bio coming soon.

Nathaniel Fields is the CEO of Urban Resource Institute (URI), the leading and largest provider of shelter and services for domestic violence survivors and homeless families. Under his leadership, URI has focused on innovation and coalition building, exemplified by groundbreaking programs, including People and Animals Living Safely (PALS), the first pet-inclusive, co-living program in New York City allowing domestic violence survivors and their pets to live and heal together. Nathaniel has been included in the annual NYC and State “Non-profit Power 100” list and the “Responsible 100” leaders of NY. He has been appointed by governors and mayors to serve on a variety of committees and taskforces, and is a proven leader in the sector. Nathaniel holds a bachelor’s degree in U.S. history, focusing on Black and Hispanic studies, and a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. He also holds a certificate in executive leadership in the not-for-profit sector from New York University.

Becca Franks is assistant professor of Environmental Studies at New York University. After earning a B.A. in anthropology from New York University (NYU) and a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia University, she was a Killam Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Animal Welfare Program at the University of British Columbia, where she was awarded the Killam Research Prize. With expertise in animal behavior, human-animal relationships, aquatic animals, and quantitative methods, her research and teaching lie at the intersection of environmental and animal protection. The core question driving her work is: How can science help repair human relationships to other animals and the rest of nature? In addition to publishing scholarly articles, chapters, and commentaries, she is the co-director of the Wild Animal Welfare Program at NYU and an associate editor for the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Rachel Herman (She/Her) is the founder and executive director of Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS NY), a non-profit established in 2008 to help older adults and others in need remain together with their animal companions. Rachel has worked in the non-profit sector for 17 years. During her time at PAWS NY, Rachel has been named “New Yorker of the Week” by NY1, “Holiday Hero” by The New York Times, “40 Under 40 Rising Stars in the Non-profit World” by NYN Media, and “Young Social Impact Hero” by Thrive Global. Rachel received her B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan and her Master of Public Administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. After 17 years in NYC (the last 13 in Brooklyn), Rachel relocated to Connecticut in 2021 with her husband, two daughters, and their cat Milo.

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Mandy Hood (They/She) has twenty years of experience in community outreach and labor organizing and began their career in Miami, Florida working on a statewide anti-poverty initiative. In 2009, Mandy joined the labor movement in Pennsylvania to support healthcare workers in their fight for better working conditions. In 2015, Mandy joined the Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) as the community outreach and humane education manager, synthesizing over a decade of experience to develop and lead anti-poverty efforts within the animal services field. Mandy develops programs and policies at the PSPCA that prioritize the voices and needs of Philadelphia residents with pets in generational poverty who are denied access to comprehensive services. Their best day is in the field door knocking and leading free veterinary clinics. Mandy has a Master of Science in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University.

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Bio coming soon.

Melissa Levy is the executive director of PAWS, having led the organization from its grassroots, volunteer-driven inception in 2006 to become Philadelphia’s largest rescue partner and provider of affordable spay/neuter and veterinary care. PAWS now employs 65 caring people who operate three facilities, serve over 30,000 pets annually, and are supported by an extraordinary community of hundreds of volunteers. PAWS’ core values, sense of urgency, and strategic approach stem from its beginnings as the lifesaving arm of the City’s animal control agency. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Melissa graduated from Friends Select School and Cornell University. Prior to PAWS, she spent 11 years in the for-profit and non-profit sectors, focusing on business development, communications, marketing, and community outreach. Her beloved dog Rosie, adopted from the city shelter in 2005, inspired her to channel those skills in a new way, and was by her side for nearly 15 years while PAWS took shape.

Amelia Linn is the director of global policy at Mercy For Animals, leading the organization’s international policy program. Amelia has nearly a decade of experience working on international climate change policy, including most recently with Environmental Defense Fund’s climate-smart agriculture program, and, previously, serving for six years as an adviser to the chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a group of 39 member countries at the United Nations. She also served as an International Climate Fellow at the Guarini Center for Environmental, Energy, & Land Use Law at NYU School of Law, where her research focused on the intersection of animal agriculture and climate change.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Bio coming soon.

Dr. Shaina Sadai is the Hitz Postdoctoral Fellow for Litigation-Relevant Research at the Science Hub for Climate Litigation within the Union of Concerned Scientists. She is a climate scientist, critical physical geographer, and political ecologist. Her research focuses on projecting future global changes in climate and sea level; attributing climate impacts to corporate emitters; and understanding climate justice, particularly through critical geographies of sea level rise and multispecies climate justice frameworks. Part of her dissertation work, published in Earth’s Future, explored climate justice and sea level rise by critically interpreting the UNFCCC Paris Agreement long-term temperature goal through the lens of sea level rise impacts and the interface of science, policy, and political power. In 2021, she was honored with the Distinguished Teaching Award from UMass Amherst. She holds a Ph.D. in earth, geographic, and climate Sciences, M.S. in applied mathematics, B.S. in astrophysics, and B.S. in physics.

Bio coming soon.

As chief executive officer of the SF SPCA, Dr. Jennifer Scarlett is responsible for a number of visionary programs, including a coalition that transformed partner shelters in California’s Central Valley; veterinary outreach to under-resourced neighborhoods; and Shelter PALS, the first no-cost legal service designed to resolve structural, policy-based barriers to improved welfare and outcomes for shelter animals. Under her leadership, the SF SPCA has made remarkable progress for homeless animals. The organization’s lifesaving capacity has deepened by addressing pet health inequity in San Francisco while also extending crucial assistance in shelter operations and public policy to shelters throughout California to meet the State’s goal of ending the euthanasia of adoptable animals. Dr. Scarlett lives in San Francisco with her dog, Louie, and cats, Squitten and Olive.

Troy Seidle leads a global team of experts who work with governments, companies, research funding bodies, scientists, and public interest stakeholders to promote acceptance of modern, animal-free approaches to testing and research. With three decades’ experience in biomedical and toxicological science policy, he possesses extensive knowledge of current and emerging testing and research methodologies, and of legal and regulatory frameworks across many different countries and sectors. Seidle’s contributions to political negotiations led to an unprecedented 50 percent reduction in animal test requirements for pesticides and biocides in Europe, which earned HSI a LUSH Prize. Troy is the chief architect behind the Animal-Free Safety Assessment (AFSA) Collaboration, a forum for stakeholder dialogue and cooperation toward a common vision of a not-so-distant future without animal testing. He has provided expert testimony to governments across the globe and served on numerous high-level policy committees, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Union, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Seidle started early as an animal advocate: At 18, he was the youngest person to serve on the Canadian Council on Animal Care and witness first-hand the plight of animals used in science.

Before joining Media Impact Funders in 2011 as executive director, Vince Stehle was program director for non-profit sector support at the Surdna Foundation, a family foundation based in New York City. Prior to joining Surdna, Vince worked for 10 years as a reporter for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where he covered a broad range of issues about the non-profit sector. Vince has served as chairperson of Philanthropy New York and on the governing boards of VolunteerMatch, the Non-profit Technology Network (NTEN), and the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

Valerie Taylor currently serves in the role of executive director for the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS). Previously, she managed the GFAS equine and farmed animal programs as program director. Valerie has more than 20 years of experience in leadership, non-profit association management, education and advocacy, fundraising, and credentialing program operations in the animal welfare and protection fields. Her career has spanned roles including credentialing for animal sanctuaries, rescue, and rehabilitation centers in North America and internationally; time managing humane education programming for a statewide animal shelter; and overseeing organizations providing equine assisted activities and therapies. These roles have afforded Valerie not only hands-on interactions with animals and clients, but also valuable skills such as overseeing staff, fundraising, and strategic planning. Valerie’s educational background includes a degree in equine studies, as well as two certificates in the equine assisted activities and therapies field.

Bio coming soon.

Bernard Unti is senior principal strategist for communications at the Humane Society of the United States. An historian by training, he frequently speaks and writes on the evolution of human attitudes toward animals, the development of pet keeping, animal sheltering, and the kindness-to-animals ethic, the humane education of children, and the place of animal protection within the history of American social reform.

Marie Wenzel, executive director of Hand2Paw, brings 15 years of social service experience to her position. After earning her master’s in social work from Temple University, she began her career in the child welfare system. Over the years, Marie has spearheaded initiatives to increase access to innovative programming for underserved populations. She is dedicated to promoting positive social change and improving the systems that perpetually harm people from marginalized communities. Having used therapy pets in a youth mental health clinic, Marie understands the healing power that animal assisted interventions have with humans. That propelled her into expanding opportunities for youth to heal through helping rescue animals at Hand2Paw. Marie’s passion is addressing the violence crisis in Philadelphia by offering paid internships to youth interested in developing work skills in the animal wellbeing and veterinary spaces, and expanding Hand2Paw’s impact, offering creative humane education workshops and pet food pantries in the community.

Janet White is founder and director of Carriage Horse Freedom, an animal advocacy organization working to ensure a legislative ban on horse-drawn carriages in Philadelphia, and CEO of FREe-CARRIAGES, LLC, a start-up enterprise providing “electric horseless carriages” (e-carriages) as viable alternatives to horse-drawn carriages. Carriage Horse Freedom’s “Caroline” carriage was debuted at Philadelphia’s 2023 Independence Day Parade, making Philadelphia the first major U.S. city to introduce an electric carriage. A native Philadelphian and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Janet is passionate about promoting the ban/replace model for Philadelphia and other U.S. cities and providing electric carriages as an eco-friendly and cruelty-free alternative.

Dr. James Yeates is a qualified veterinarian, including working in private practice and shelter medicine as a clinician and as chief veterinary officer of the RSPCA in the U.K. He has a Ph.D. in animal welfare and ethics and a M.B.A., and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He has published over 50 papers and four books on animal welfare, veterinary science, and animal ethics across all animal types. He is now CEO of the World Federation for Animals, which brings together leading animal heroes from around the world and advocates for all animals within the United Nations.