NARN
Board of Directors

Rachel

Rachel Bjork

Where did you grow up?

Seattle! I am a rare Seattle native. I am lucky to have grown up on Capitol Hill in the heart of Seattle. I am grateful that my parents sent me to schools with a diverse student population, and that I learned to enjoy and learn from people that are different from me.

Why vegan?

I become vegan in 2000. I had previously been a slow convert to vegetarianism because I thought it was healthier. After coming back home from attending college out of state, I started going to EarthSave potlucks in Seattle and watched a few videos about what happens to dairy cows and layer hens. I learned that not only were eggs and dairy unhealthy, but what happened to animals raised or food was just horrible. I just knew I couldn’t be a part of something so awful. Simply not contributing to such injustice seemed like the least I could do.

Why animal rights activism & why NARN?

Since I was in High School, I knew that I wanted my life to matter and to me, that meant working on making the world a better place. I wanted to do what I could to change the world for the better.  I am not happy sitting back and allowing injustice to happen. I love being involved with NARN because we believe in community, inclusion, that animal activism is a social justice movement and that a variety of tactics are necessary in order to achieve Animal Liberation. I love being a part of a wonderful community that is always striving to do better.

What inspires you? 

Other activists! Not the superstars of the movement, but the everyday “average” folks that spend their free time fighting for the animals.

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Mike Hines

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky, spending summers at my grandfather’s farm in south central Kentucky. I went to college in Murray, Kentucky and then moved throughout the US over the years, living in North Carolina, Colorado, Washington and California. I’ve been in Seattle since 2008, but lived in Malta for a short stint in 2012.

Why vegan?

There are so many reasons. I grew up an omnivore. I always loved animals, but had the same cognitive dissonance that abounds in our society. Around 2002 I decided I couldn’t support the torturous nature of industrial animal farms and switched to being a ‘free range’ vegetarian. Two years later I learned that a number of the companies claiming they were raising animals free range were doing horrible things. I also came to the conclusion around the same time that the consumption and use of animals was entirely about convenience and pleasure. I could no longer ethically justify any choice other than veganism.

Since then, I’ve come to understand many more reasons for being vegan, including general ecological impact, human costs in animal agriculture, antibiotic resistant bacteria and general impact of ignoring animal welfare on our society’s mentality.

Why animal rights activism & why NARN?

I’ve done a lot of volunteering and organizing in other areas over the years, primarily focused on race & social justice equity work. I’ve volunteered with NARN several times, but it hasn’t been my key focus. I appreciate NARN’s intersectional and inclusive approach to animal rights activism, and I believe as a society we desperately need both veganism and compassion that isn’t drawn across arbitrary lines.

What inspires you? 

I am inspired by the lengths to which so many passionate volunteers, activists and organizers have gone throughout history to make change where they saw injustice or need. I am inspired by the beauty, complexity and diversity of nature and believe that we have a responsibility to protect it and preserve it for all sentient beings.

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Tom Knight

Where did you grow up?

Half English, half Scottish, I grew up in Newcastle which is located in North East England. At 18, I went to University in Leeds, before graduating and moving to Australia for two years. After a 6 year stint in London, I moved to Vancouver on a whim in 2016 and never looked back. I’m now a Canadian citizen and call this beautiful city in the Pacific Northwest home.

 

Why vegan?

I fell backward into veganism and, if I’m being honest, didn’t see it coming. A slow office afternoon prompted a colleague to share an online calculator showing your carbon footprint. Although other parts of my life such as transport and clothing were high contributors, my meat intake stood out as a huge output and it felt like the most achievable to give up. What started as an environmental decision quickly changed to one of ethics and reducing harm; the more I read about nutrition and what my body needs, the more I also learned about factory farming and the dairy industry. Like Alice, I quickly fell down the rabbit hole – the more I learned, read, and watched, the more I was utterly horrified at the way animals were raised and lived their entire lives purely for human convenience and taste.

Pulling back the curtain was both eye-opening and somewhat embarrassing in that I was naive for so long. I’ve been fully vegan for roughly 3 years and have since dug into animal activism and pushed for a plant-based diet and vegan lifestyle in my community.

 

Why animal rights activism & why NARN?

My partner works for a non-profit to reduce food waste and increase accessibility to food for minority groups in the city. Seeing the impact that non-profits can make, plus my motivation to effect change in reducing harm to animals, led me to get involved in animal activism in Vancouver.  Reading NARN’s mission and prior actions, I found many of the campaigns very inspiring, but more so, truly appreciate the inclusivity and ability to embrace intersectional justice.

 

What inspires you? 

Those who are open-minded. Society dictates that you turn 18 and become an “adult” with many refusing to change or evolve. Those who remain open, can entertain many differing thoughts, and want to continue to learn through logic, data, and societal evolution are inspiring. It’s always hard to go against the grain, but that’s why I find those open to change very inspiring.

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Lindsey Roberts

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. I moved to the Sonoran Desert, living primarily in Phoenix, with some time spent in Tucson. Now, I live in Portland, OR, where I am thrilled to be building a community of regional, passionate animal advocates.

 

Why vegan?

At the age of 10, I connected the dots on where our food came from and went vegetarian. Over the years, my understanding of animal agriculture and the animal rights movement continued to evolve, as did my connection with nonhuman animals. As an adult, I developed a deeper understanding of the similarities that exist among all sentient beings and the depths of the bonds that can exist between animals. And so I shifted from a diet-based approach (or what I believed was a form of activism at the time) to a comprehensive way of life firmly grounded in the principles of excluding all forms of exploitation, cruelty, and harm.

My vegan journey continues to evolve each day.

 

Why animal rights activism & why NARN?

Growing up in a household committed to social justice, I learned to acknowledge the experiences of those with limited access to privileges I might have taken for granted. This awareness has been a guiding principle throughout my life. As I matured and became more aware, the intersections between human and animal rights became increasingly apparent–as did the connections between animal rights and environmental issues, systemic racism, reproductive rights, and other concerns close to my heart. It was not long before my advocacy for animal rights transformed from a passion into a life’s mission. It’s not just something I care about; it’s a calling that propels me to work tirelessly in their defense.

My admiration for NARN is rooted in our mission to advocate for the rights of all sentient beings—the right to choose, and to be free from oppression and exploitation. I was particularly interested in working for the NARN mission as our work impacts animals living or trapped in my regional community.

 

What inspires you? 

Witnessing animals thriving, exploring the natural world, and having the freedom to be themselves is my ultimate source of inspiration for this work. I find myself driven by the incredible activists, of various causes, organizing in the trenches, pushing for justice and meaningful change. I am also largely motivated by my NARN colleagues who possess an unshakable commitment to ending animal exploitation and protecting their inherent rights.

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Altamush Saeed

Where did you grow up?

Lahore, Pakistan. Since 2014, I have been involved in non-profit work, originally starting from human rights to animal and environmental rights, where I finally started to see the invisible members of my country. I have lived in Portland Oregon and Ann Arbor Michigan for the last 3 years where I met so many kind, amazing humans and animals. I owe everything to my family, the animals, and the environment for supporting me throughout.

 

Why vegan?

I became Vegan in 2021 when I started studying animal rights law in the US. As someone who comes from a meat-eating culture, but someone who carries a heart for the rights of all sentient beings, I directly shifted to veganism from being a hardcore carnivore in a span of less than 24 hours. It was the easiest and best decision I have ever taken as it directly aligns with my life’s goal of making the world a better place for all life, be it human, animal, or the environment from an interspecies justice perspective. In Pakistan, animals are invisible and I sincerely wish I could make them more visible in my home country and everywhere I go. I feel the animals chose me and that was their greatest gift to my entire existence.

 

Why animal rights activism & why NARN?

I have been involved in non-profit work since I was 17 years old. Back then I didn’t know what I was doing. Initially, I started with human rights work but later when I was rescued by a cat in 2018, my eyes opened to animals. Back then, I didn’t know what spay/neuter meant so my cat went outside and came back pregnant and gave birth to six fur babies. I later was given a rescue pug for my dog culling protests. All of them live with me. I officially became Vegan in 2022, when I chose to study animal rights law, just the 2nd person in the history of Pakistan the 1st Pakistani recipient of the Brooks Institute Animal Rights Law Intl Scholarship. I came across NARN’s work in 2023 and have been in love with them ever since. I truly believe that a dedicated set of people can change the world and I feel I can learn so much from their kindness and empathy, which I will translate in my work across the world.

 

What inspires you? 

Hope inspires me. The animals inspire me. The humans inspire me. The environment inspires me. Despite there being so much wrong in the world, we all have that inner hope to imagine a better world and to constantly be surrounded by such beings who are willing to share their hope and consistently keep standing is a beyond inspirational experience that cannot be penned, but only be lived.

 

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Lindsey Soffes

Where did you grow up?

I grew up largely north of Seattle, though I was fortunate enough to enjoy several years of my childhood in my mother’s home country of Switzerland. After graduating from high school, I spent almost a decade on the east coast before returning to the Pacific Northwest.

 

Why vegan?

After many years as a vegetarian (credit to the movie Babe, which opened my eyes to important issues when I was a child!), I adopted ethical veganism about 15 years ago. I remember coming across an article that quoted Gary Francione as saying that there is more suffering in a glass of milk than in a pound of steak, and my vegetarian self was shaken – after some additional reading, including Animal Liberation by Peter Singer, I became a passionate vegan overnight. It remains the best decision I have made.

 

Why animal rights activism & why NARN?

I believe firmly that animal rights is a core social justice issue, though it is all too often not recognized as such. Shortly after adopting veganism, I spent two years working at a nonprofit that championed human civil rights, and I was struck by my peers’ disinterest in (and, really, stark resistance to) recognizing the fundamental and overwhelming parallels between the animal rights ideology and the ideologies underpinning human social justice efforts. The emphasis on this fundamental connection – on intersectional justice – is one of NARN’s unique and important contributions that drew me in.

 

What inspires you? 

Those for whom we are advocating! On the most difficult of days – when the atrocities inflicted by humans knock the wind out of me – I picture the other-than-human animals for whom we are fighting, and they help restore my breath.

 

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Gina Tomaselli

Where did you grow up?

I am a rare San Francisco native. I went to college at New York University and pursued a dance career until I sustained a severe spinal injury that ended my career and left me unable to function for nearly two years.  I decided that if I could not dance, I needed to pursue a career that would allow me to give back to the community, so I finished my undergraduate degree and then obtained a law degree from UC Berkeley. I took an animal law course in law school and was hooked. I moved to Washington, DC after law school to join the Animal Protection Litigation section at the Humane Society of the United States, where I worked on farmed and companion animal litigation and legislation. I eventually moved back to the Bay Area because it was too difficult being so far from my family, and took a job with the Social Security Administration, hoping to secure a job in the animal law field soon. After several years at the state government, I am now in Sacramento pursuing my greatest passion – animal protection law.

 

Why vegan?

I have been vegan for 17 years, and it was the best decision I ever made. I gave up “red” meat when I was 8 years old after getting a flier about factory farms. From there it was a slow progression to giving up other animal products until I became completely vegan in my first year of law school. There are so many reasons to be vegan that I wonder why everyone isn’t vegan, but my motivation was primarily to prevent animal suffering. The videos I watched of innocent animals being tortured and killed haunted me. I saw no reason why the fleeting pleasure of taste should justify this torture. My first project out of law school was to draft a petition to the United States Department of Agriculture to close a loophole in the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act that allowed veal calves to be shocked and brutalized in order to get them to walk towards the slaughter pen. As part of the petition, I worked closely with undercover investigators stationed at a Vermont veal processing plant. Most of the calves came from idyllic, small dairy farms in Vermont, the kind of farms where one imagines cows prancing joyously across green fields. What most people don’t realize is that in any dairy farm – small or large – male calves are a byproduct and of no use to the farm. These calves – mere hours or days old – are sold for pennies, and rounded up in trucks to take them to the veal facility. They are so weak and young that they can’t even walk, and the mother-calf bond is so strong that mother cows will often injure themselves trying to get to their calves and bellow for days after they are gone. I never looked at cheese the same way again.

 

Why animal rights activism & why NARN?

One of the many things I love about NARN is its commitment to intersectional values. In order to effectively advocate for the rights of non-human animals, we must also recognize the injustices suffered by humans, particularly those of historically and politically disenfranchised groups. I have been involved in many social justice movements through my life, and being involved with NARN dovetails perfectly with my passions.

 

What inspires you? 

I am inspired by children and teenagers who advocate for animals despite the risk of being perceived as weird or different. When I was a kid, I remember crying because my peers – and even many adults – made fun of me for circulating petitions against animal testing or refusing to eat hamburgers. I didn’t know there were so many others out there like me. It is so beautiful to me to see children and young people reject the compartmentalization that society ingrains in us from the day we are born: to view “farmed” animals as different from “companion animals” and to ignore that the “pork” and “dairy” and “beef” arrived on our plates through immense physical, psychological, and emotional suffering and torture. It is not an easy task – it requires critical thinking, the ability to question what we have been taught, and incredible bravery.