Raymond J. Lesniak—veteran State Senator of New Jersey, who has a distinguished track record of working on behalf of animals and animal welfare—explains that he didn’t really harbor any political ambition while growing up, sort of wandering into that realm after...
Luan Dean—the Director of Mission Advancement at SPCA Tampa Bay—explains the scope of her duties at the organization, which began in 1940, while describing the work undertaken there in the earliest days, some 70 years ago. Dean also briefly traces SPCA Tampa Bay’s...
Jennifer Arnold—the founder and executive director of Canine Assistants, which trains and provides service dogs for children and adults with physical disabilities and author, most recently, of “Love Is All You Need: The Revolutionary Bond-Based Approach To...
This represents a highly unusual edition of “Talking Animals,” chiefly, because it features far more guests at one time—eight—than any other show in our 13-plus year history. The overall topic was Pasco County’s Inmate Labor Program, which allows inmates to “work”...
Dr. Lisa Kemmerer—a professor of philosophy and religions at Montana State University Billings, who has written and/or edited none books—discusses her unusual, stop-start path as an academic, including what drew her to Harvard Divinity School, where she earned her...
Dr. James Keen—a veterinarian and scientist, and surely one of this era’s most significant whistle blowers in the animal welfare realm--describes the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), a 55 square-mile livestock research facility in Nebraska, where Keen had...
Thomas Ponce—the 15-year-old activist and founder (at age 12) of Florida-based Lobby For Animals—recalls the circumstances that triggered his precocious interest in animal activism, as well as how hearing about the importance of lobbying at an animal rights...
Caitlin O’Connell—one of the elephant experts featured in “Mind of a Giant,” a Nat Geo Wild documentary special premiering June 19—recalls how she did not grow up with a particular fascination or love for elephants, noting her earlier academic work was in...
Nicole Green—director of Animalearn, an organization that promotes humane science education, and helps educational institutions, from elementary school through medical and veterinary school—recounts the history and evolution of Animalearn, launched in 1990 by the...
Helena Kriel—founder of Baby Rhino Rescue, which seeks to raise awareness of the rhino poaching crisis, and raise money for the care of baby rhinos who’ve become orphaned through that poaching—recalls her formative years in South Africa, growing up with a strong...
