Ellie began her animal welfare activism over a decade ago in Canada, focusing on a range of issues. For the last three years, she has led campaigns persuading billion-dollar companies to end some of the cruelest factory farm abuses. Ellie manages global campaigns on behalf of the Open Wing Alliance and trains activists around the world on running corporate pressure campaigns in their countries

Dr. Mwenda Mbaka is a Veterinarian who graduated from the University of Nairobi with a Bachelor’s Degree in Veterinary Medicine in 1985. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Veterinary Public Health. He worked as a government veterinarian until 1989, when he shifted from the Public Sector to become one of the pioneers in Kenya to start-up “Agro-Vet” shops. With the introduction of the Structural Adjustment Programs and subsequent systematic withdrawal of government subsidized veterinary services, Professionals in the private sector, such as Mbaka, were propelled to the frontline of private sector extension services through various consultancy engagements. He has since undertaken numerous consultancy services in Kenya and other countries in Africa, in the areas of Veterinary Public Health, Policy and Animal Welfare. Mbaka taught Animal Health at the Chuka University in Kenya, for 5 years, where he was the Chairman of the Department of Animal Science during his tenure. He has served as the Chairman of the Kenya Veterinary Board, the President of the Team of Experts for the Establishment and Operationalization of the African Union’s Association of African Veterinary Statutory Bodies. Currently he is the External Affairs Advisor for World Animal Protection - Africa Office. Mbaka is a dedicated Pan-Africanist, a conservationist, and a passionate champion for Animal Welfare.

Wolf Gordon Clifton is the executive director of Animal People, Inc., an international non-profit charity dedicated to raising awareness of animal protection issues worldwide. Wolf has an M.A. in Museum Studies and Astrobiology (University of Washington 2015) and a B.A. in Religious Studies, Film Studies, and Astronomy (Vanderbilt University 2013).

Anne is an independent consultant working in the charity sector for the past 4 years specialising in strategic marketing and fundraising for a number of clients, utilising extensive knowledge and passion for wildlife and the 'non-profit sector'. Anne worked in this area, mainly as Marketing Director of the Born Free Foundation, an international wildlife charity, for 26 years. Recently, her other projects have included establishing a new Farm Animal charity and sanctuary, advising the UK’s oldest Farm Animal sanctuary, rescue dog organisations and numerous wildlife charities in Africa and the UK. This followed a career in journalism and advertising where she was responsible for a number of high profile corporate and charity accounts, as well as new business, product development and, client services. Anne is currently involved with the development of the iLearnabout initiative

Dr. Amy L. Balogh is Lead Lecturer of the Humanities at the Regis University School for Professional Advancement where she teaches a wide variety of courses in religious studies, including courses on Judaism, Christianity, myth, and comparative religions. Her doctoral degree is in the Study of Religion from the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology, and her areas of expertise are the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near Eastern religions. Dr. Balogh’s research focuses on the different ways that religious texts, ideas, and practices moderate our species’ relationship with nature. Her first book, Moses among the Idols: Mediators of the Divine in the Ancient Near East, was published with Lexington Books / Fortress Press in 2018. She is currently working on her second book, Human Ecology in the Hebrew Bible: A New Theory of Origins, which focuses on the human experience of nature and its formative role in the shaping of biblical religion.

Delcianna (Delci) Winders is an assistant clinical professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School, where she directs the Center for Animal Law Studies’ Animal Law Litigation Clinic (ALLC)—the world’s only clinic focused exclusively on animal law litigation.

Professor Winders’ animal law and administrative law scholarship has appeared in the Denver Law Review, Florida State Law Review, Ohio State Law Journal, NYU Law Review, and Animal Law Review. She has also published extensively in the popular press, including The Hill, National Geographic, Newsweek, New York Daily News, Salon, and U.S.A. Today.

Prior to joining the Lewis & Clark faculty, Winders was vice president and deputy general counsel for the PETA Foundation, the first academic fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program, and a visiting scholar at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.

Winders received her BA in Legal Studies with highest honors from the University California at Santa Cruz, and her JD from NYU School of Law.

Following law school, Winders clerked for the Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and practiced animal law in a variety of settings. She has also taught animal law at Tulane University School of Law and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. 

Winders has been interviewed by numerous major news outlets, gives frequent presentations, and was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine as one of “Six Women Who Dare.”

Dr Kebba Daffeh (DVM, MSc, DEA) is the WTS VETS UNITED Representative in West Africa. He has been serving as VETS UNITED Project Manager in The Gambia from 2015 to date. Prior to his engagement with VETS UNITED, Dr Kebba Daffeh accrued more than 16 years of progressive work experience with the Government of The Gambia at senior technical and managerial positions in animal health and production and food safety and quality. His key areas of competency include the planning and implementation of disease surveillance, prevention and control programmes. The positions of responsibility he  held include among others: Director General Food Safety and Quality Authority of The Gambia, Director Department of Veterinary Services, Chief Veterinary Officer and OIE Delegate for The Gambia; Principal Veterinary Public Health Officer responsible for safety of food products of animal origin and zoonosis control, Principal Veterinary Officer responsible for Epidemiology, Disease Control and Investigation; National Epidemiologist for the Pan African Programme for Control of Epizootics (PACE-Gambia); National Coordinator FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) on the Early Detection, Surveillance and Prevention of Avian Influenza in West Africa, National Coordinator Support Programme to Integrated National Action Plans- Avian and Human Influenza (SPINAP-AHI); National Coordinator Vaccines for Neglected Animal Diseases in Africa (VACNADA) and National Coordinator FAO TCP on the Emergency Control of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in The Gambia. After voluntary retirement from Government service in January 2014, Dr Daffeh worked for FAO-Gambia as Livestock Expert in the design and formulation of Climate Change Adaptation and Women Empowerment Projects respectively.

Meyir Yiryele Ziekah is a Veterinarian and currently the Manager and Resident Zoo veterinarian of Kumasi Zoological Gardens of the Wildlife Division of Forestry Commission. Meyir’s objective is to work and rise through the ranks on merit and be part of the success story of any organization that he works for or works with. Meyir is a lover of nature and the cultural diversity of this world and a part time lecturer at the Department of Clinical studies, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.

Meyir pursued Junior and Senior High education on the Isle of Youth, Cuba and proceeded to Universidad Agraria de La Habana, Cuba where he studied Veterinary Medicine obtaining a DVM in 1999. In 2014, he won an EU scholarship through the INTRA ACP Mobility scheme for a Postgraduate degree in Epidemiology in Tanzania.

After National Service in1999, he worked in the private sector as the Manager of Central Veterinary Hospital, Tema. Meyir was employed into the Ministry of Food and Agriculture as the Municipal Veterinary Officer of Agona West and East municipal areas in 2008.

Meyir was posted to the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, as a Wildlife Veterinarian and Accra Zoo Veterinarian in 2009. He is part of a research team that works on Bat research in Ghana, and was a key member of a multinational team of researchers from ZSL and Cambridge University that undertook a science expedition to Annobon Island, Equatorial Guinea.

Meyir co-authored works on Bat viruses and ethnomedicinal use of vultures and was trained by Ghana Health Services, CDC and WHO as a member of a Rapid Response Team for zoonotic emergences. Future project is to train wildlife Rangers on wildlife disease surveillance in protected areas.

Janice is co-founder and a director of World Animal Net, an international animal protection organisation with over 3000 affiliates in more than 100 countries. She started her career working on regional and international policy for the UK government, before joining the animal protection movement 30 years ago. She has since held a variety of management and advocacy roles in international animal protection. Janice is based in South Africa and now focuses on WAN’s advocacy work in Africa, including with UN Environment (UNEP) and the African Union. She has assisted with regional strategic planning for animal welfare on the continent, including working with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)'s Southern African office for one year. Janice was the recipient of the Humane Society International 2014 award for “extraordinary commitment and achievement for animal protection”.

My training as a veterinary doctor and business administration proved to be the perfect combination and set the stage for a career in food security, disaster management in the livestock sector. Having worked for 23 years in these fields in Africa and South East Asia. Joining World animal Protection in April 2013 was the icing on the cake – combining my world and loves into one - emergency management for animals. Adding to this is now my PhD on Environmental Management and Governance which has given me a new perceptive on climate emergencies and how animals are impacted.

I have worked the United Nations in various organizations – WFP. FAO, UNDP, and OCHA dealing with human and animal emergencies in the context of how they affect communities and countries. Looking for solutions that fit the socio-cultural, economic, political, and environmental context that Africa presents is my calling and passion.

Here with World Animal Protection, I am the Disaster Manager for Africa. We aim to contribute to reducing animal suffering in the world by reducing if not avoiding, death, injury, diseases, and production losses of animals before, during. and immediately after disasters. We do this through; lobbying and advocacy to have animal emergencies included in regional and national policies, legislation and operational practices, education by facilitating the inclusion of high quality disaster management and animal welfare training into curriculums of universities’ faculties of veterinary medicines and  directly training veterinarians and other livestock cadre within the Ministries of Agriculture; education of livestock farmers on disaster management at farm level and finally, undertaking pilot projects to demonstrate to national authorities how to

(i) Integrate animal emergencies into livestock extension services within the Ministry of Agriculture.

(ii) Set up and operate veterinary emergency response teams that can be available for national animal emergencies

(iii) Training on disaster management both online and practical lessons.

(iv) Support livestock farmers through risk financing instruments like livestock disaster funds.

(v) Public campaigning to have animal disasters included in disaster policies, laws and institutional operations.

My Academic Education

• Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine
• Masters in Business Administration
• PHD student – Environmental Management and Governance – specializing in drought risk reduction strategies in ASAL areas.

Kay is an experienced e-learning programme and digital training designer with extensive experience in UK and Africa. As Senior Academy Consultant for Mwabu, Kay designed and delivered digital conservation education, teacher training and train the trainer programmes in Zambia and South Africa. For iSchool, she created nine hundred e-lessons for the Zambian school curriculum. Kay is also the author of creative-writing and spelling books and a complete English tutoring course.

Dr. Roberta Mancuso is a Professor of Applied Psychology at Regis University and a published researcher in the areas of social and health psychology. Trained at leading research institutions (PhD at University of Michigan and postdoctoral research at UCLA), she brings extensive interdisciplinary experience with multi-ethnic, community-based research projects, and appreciates the opportunities and challenges of these types of endeavors. She is particularly interested in the ways that individuals are impacted by their social environments and how these interactions affect psychological and physical health. More recently, she is exploring the ways in which social psychological processes can help or hinder behavior change within the context of global sustainability.

Janet L. Rumfelt, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of the Liberal Arts Department in the School for Professional Advancement at Regis University. She works in comparative religious traditions, philosophy, and trauma studies. More recently her concerns about environmental degradation and the treatment of nonhuman animals led her to shift her focus to the environmental humanities where she draws on religion and philosophy to address conservation issues. She spearheaded the development of an M.A. Specialization in Environmental Studies at Regis.

She has published on the role of narrative in redressing trauma and on Jesuit values in post-traditional curriculum. Currently, she is editing a volume on religion and animal extinction (under contract with Claremont Press) and is writing an essay that examines the transformation of lion hunting in the Amboseli-Tsavo-Kilimanjaro ecosystem and explores its implications for religious rituals.

Dr. Rumfelt is active in nonprofit work. She founded Running Wild, an annual 5K and 1-Mile Fun Run, that supports beneficiaries in Africa that protect imperiled species and ecosystems. She currently serves as the Board President of ANAW-USA and is also a board member with ANAW in Kenya. She is passionate about promoting ANAW’s mission of compassionate co-existence with nonhuman animals.

“Desmond Rono is a widely experienced Monitoring and Evaluation and digital means of data collection. He is experienced in research methods, monitoring and evaluation, food security programmes, impact evaluation and data analysis. He has specialized skills in food security, econometric modelling, advanced statistics and research methods, environmental impact assessment and poverty analysis tool. Currently, Desmond works for Brooke East Africa in the capacity of Knowledge Management and Research Officer. He is tasked with the MEAL role with Brooke East Africa and MEAL advisory role with partner organizations. Desmond leads the development and roll out of the M-punda app with BEA.”

Titus Sagala is the country director of Send a Cow Kenya which is a non-Governmental organization that focuses on farming and families, building strong social capital and inclusion resulting in confident people in control of their own land and of their own futures.

He is a graduate of animal science from Egerton University and mini MBA (Peak performance and productivity) from inspire motivate and engage. He is a passionate development practitioner who values impactful and socially inclusive community Programmes.  He has worked with rural communities since 1993 starting his work as a field livestock extension officer with the ministry of Agriculture for 14 years coordinating development projects and as a regional coordinator for the Western Kenya region with Heifer International (K) for 7years. He has worked with rural farming families in Kitui, Lamu counties and Western Kenya region promoting livelihood initiatives and especially livestock production. For the past 5 years he has been on the forefront working with donkey owning communities to support the donkey welfare and their owner’s/users livelihood initiatives. During this period has engaged in advocacy for policy inclusion of the donkey and ban on donkey hide trade.

Dr. Victor Yamo is the Farming Campaigns Manager at World Animal Protection Africa office where he is actively engaging the livestock industry, governments, corporates, technical personnel, consumers and the general public in showing the critical connection between the welfare of animals, their productivity and the quality of food they produce which ultimately end on the consumers’ plates.

He has a background in animal production systems, veterinary services and agribusiness with extensive experience within the regional commercial sector having held various management positions at Kenchic, Equity Bank, Agricultural Development Corporation and Coopers K Brands Ltd over the past 25 years. He is also the current Council Chairman of Kenya Veterinary Association (KVA), the Councilor for Kenya to the Commonwealth Veterinary Association (CVA) and a full member of Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), World Poultry Science Association (WPSA) and World Poultry Veterinary Association (WVPA).

April Samaras is an Assistant Professor of Communications and Program Coordinator for undergraduate and graduate communications. Her primary areas of teaching include interpersonal, family, emotions in communication and conflict, oral communication and persuasion. Research interests include environmental communication, coping with grief, loss and trauma, and the social, and philosophical dimensions that prevent supportive communication. Her instructional philosophy blends both theory and rhetoric with practical scenarios in order to empower students to become successful and mindful global citizens. April is an established communications professional with more than 15 years of experience in recruiting, training, and coaching and development. She is a life-long learner with a passion for teaching others.

Hon. Garba Datti Muhammad was born on 3rd October, 1960 in Zaria, Kaduna State of Nigeria. He holds a BSc degree in Geography, and Post Graduate Diploma in Management from Bayero University Kano, a Masters Degree in International Affairs & Diplomacy from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, a Certificate in Scenarios Planning from the Oxford University, United Kingdom, Certificate in Understanding Congressional Operations, Brookings Institute, Washington DC and Certificate in Negotiation and Decision Making Strategies from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

After a 16 year stint in the public service, he made some forays into politics. In 2003, he contested and won election into the Kaduna State House of Assembly where he served as Chairman, Committee on Market Development & Inter Governmental Relations before becoming the Minority Whip.

Fired by a patriotic zeal to serve his people and the country better, he again puts his popularity to test when he contested and won the mandate to represent the good people of the Sabon Gari Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 2007. When the Congress for Progressive Change was formed in 2010, he was the first ANPP member in the House to join the party under whose platform he contested again and won the mandate to return in 2011.

He is an astute grassroot politician and a strong mobiliser who contested and won elections at the State and National levels four times as an opposition candidate since the inception of the 4th Republic.

He pioneered merger talks with the other legacy parties in the House of Representatives and participated in series of meetings that culminated in the formation of the All Progressive Congress. He is a member of the National Caucus and National Executive Council of the party.

He is presently the Chairman, House Committee on Ports and Harbours and member committees on Gas Resources, National Security and Intelligence.

Hon. Justice (Mr.) Oscar Amugo Angote is a Judge of the Environment and Land Court, Machakos, Kenya and a member of the IUCN, World Commission on Environmental Law. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL B) degree from the University of Nairobi and Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Environmental Law, from the same university. He is currently a PhD candidate in Environmental Law at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law & Policy (CASELAP), University of Nairobi. His research area for the PhD program is ‘The regulation of property rights for sustainable management of riparian land.’

Justice Angote has authored and published the following Articles: ‘Environmental Litigation in Kenya: A Call for Reforms’ (Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development (CMSD) Volume 3, 2019); ‘The Land Control Board Consent and the Doctrine of Constructive Trust’ (Law Society of Kenya Journal, 2019); and ‘Evictions in Kenya: Which Way Under the New Constitution and the Land Laws (Amendment) Act 2016’ (Journal of CMSD, Volume 2 2018). The other Articles which are being peer reviewed for publication are: ‘The control of climate change through policies and laws in the East African Community’ and ‘The legal recognition of customary land tenure and women's land rights in Kenya.’

Lyne iyadi is Information and Communication Officer at Brooke East Africa, based in Nairobi. Lyne is an expert in communications for development, social change, media relations, multimedia/ audio-visual production for impact story telling. She is also a digital creator and content curator under her Nana Bantu brand. Lyne has been working closely with communities in Kenya to illustrate the devastating effect that the trade in donkey skins has on their livelihoods.
Examples of Lyne work: https://www.facebook.com/thebrookecharity/videos/lyne-lyadi-from-our-brooke-east-africa-team-rememberacharityweek/2675191302525747/
https://www.thebrooke.org/our-work/donkey-skin-trade
https://www.thebrooke.org/for-professionals/working-equines-vital-role-sustainable (voiceover and co-production)