Lisa Apfelberg is the Deputy Executive Director of Jewish Veg. A lifelong defender of animals, the environment, and disenfranchised groups, she became vegetarian at age six (and has been vegan for almost twenty years). Lisa was recently selected to be a part of the Jewish Communal Women’s Leadership Project and is currently a student in the Executive Masters program at the Spertus Institute. Prior to working professionally in the vegan world, she always made herself available to teach her friends how to cook delicious food without using animal ingredients and hosted vegan cooking classes for her birthday parties. Lisa lives in Austin with her family and is currently spending her free time watching videos about the Tiny House Movement and perfecting her cooking skills.

Nicole has worked in non-profit administration for over 17 years in a variety of sectors, including the arts, education and animal welfare. She specializes in operations and strategic planning. Nicole currently serve on the boards of Ars Nova, Story Pirates Inc., One Tail at a Time Portland and Woodstock Farm Sanctuary. In addition to her role as a trustee of the Awesome Foundation Vegan chapter, she sits on the board of of their umbrella non-profit, the Institute of Higher Awesome Studies. She is a founding member of Women Funders in Animal Rights. In addition to her non-profit strategic planning consultation work and board service, she works at the intersection of food systems, environmentalism and labor rights through the Payne Brodeur Giving Fund and Ursa Minor Ventures. Her favorite animal is the moose.

Alex Bury was a professional chef when she went vegan in 1995. She still makes the same mac and cheez recipe from those days. She started a vegan restaurant in California with the hope of creating more vegans, but soon learned that well-funded nonprofits would create more change than she ever could with french toast and chocolate pie. Now she’s been a professional fundraiser for animal rights for 20 years. She’s worked for PETA, The Foundation to Support Animal Protection, HSUS, and as a consultant for several different vegan groups. Today she is the Vice President of Development at Vegan Outreach and on the board of The People & Pets Project. She lives in Anchorage, Alaska, with her rescue dog and cat, various other fosters, and well-used cross-country skis. She claims moose and guinea pigs as her favorite animals in honor of her WFAR colleagues.

Jennifer Channin has served as the Executive Director of the Better Food Foundation since 2021. She previously served as Director of Development at Better Food Foundation, Farm Forward, Found in Translation, and has worked in philanthropy for nearly twenty years raising tens of millions of dollars for farmed animal protection and social justice organizations worldwide. She holds a Masters of Divinity from Harvard, is an ordained minister, and a dual citizen of the US and Brazil. She lives in San Diego with her partner, Aaron, and their dog, Buddy.

Monica Chen is the Executive Director of New Roots Institute (formerly Factory Farming Awareness Coalition). She's on the ChangeScale steering committee and advises Scarlet Spark, the AVA Summit, and Animal Defense Partnerships. Monica earned her BA at UC Berkeley and her Master’s in Education, with a focus on the environment, at the University of New Mexico. She’s a huge fan of guinea pigs.

Emily Guzzardi is an animal advocate who is drawn to work that centers care, connection, and justice. She works as a hospital chaplain with a Buddhism-influenced spirituality and has supported many people at end of life.  She volunteers extensively for animals and has promoted plant-based menu change in city climate policy and at her workplace. Emily thrives in work that involves communication, relationship-building and strategizing. She holds a dual degree in French and Linguistics and earned a Master of Social Work from Fordham University. Prior to her work in healthcare, Emily built a career in food and hospitality. She attended culinary school after college and went on to found a wholesale baking company based on a beloved family cookie. These days, she's more excited to learn how to make vegan foods and baked goods exceptionally tasty. A lover of the natural world, Emily delights in encounters with animals and has traveled to see the wildlife around the world.  She lives in San Francisco with a dog and cat. Emily envisions a pro-plant future without factory farms—and she's committed to working for it.

Deanna Meyler cares strongly about social justice and has been vegan since 1998. Today she is the Director of Development at the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic. It is the only independent and approved craniofacial care clinic in the United States and accepts all patients, no matter their background or ability to pay. In the past, Deanna led a small nonprofit focused on animal rights, was part of the advocacy team at a large immigration rights nonprofit, worked in advertising/consulting for a decade, and was in academia for a decade. Deanna has a PhD in sociology, advanced certification in Community Leadership, is a Master Certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach & Educator, and has a certification in plant-based nutrition. She is the founder of An Everyday Vegan, a lifestyle website. Deanna’s personal mission is to make the world a better place one meal at a time.

Lisa Rimmert is a standup comedian, freelance writer, and author of the award-winning memoir, Stay: My Forever Friendship with an Aging Dog. Lisa has been advocating for dogs and cats since working at an animal shelter during undergrad, and she later expanded her advocacy to include farmed animals after learning about their suffering. For a couple of decades, Lisa worked full-time in nonprofit marketing, communications, and fundraising, including as a vice president at Vegan Outreach. She’s done just about every kind of activism, short of wearing a lettuce bikini (and that’s only because of her midwestern modesty). Lisa lives with a rescued dog and cat, named Phoenix and Sidney, and a human man named Brad. She loves vegan soul food and hates pickles.