Zehra Abbas

Zehra is a program coordinator at Umano. She is also working on her own project to create a documentary. 

1.) What is the documentary that you’re working on?

The documentary is called Halalified and its objective is to expose the halal-washing by the animal agriculture industry which is horrifying for our animal friends and detrimental for our planet. It will cover animal rights, environment, social justice/food equity/poverty, health, and food from a vegan and Islamic lens. Halalified will feature over 40 vegan Muslims who are plant-based doctors, researchers, animal activists, environmentalists, athletes, bodybuilders, food bloggers, restaurateurs, and religious clerics. 

2.) How did you decide what to focus on? Any advice to others on how to decide? 

The topic came easily to me as I am a vegan Muslim and often found myself in conversations with fellow Muslims who are collectively under the impression that halal meat is produced ethically and therefore they may consume it in abundance. The disconnect between reality and the romanticism of the halal industry is deeply problematic and quite disturbing for me. Tired of spending many hours in conversations, I figured the most effective way to reach people to explain that vegan ethics are in alignment with Islam is to consolidate all the extensive information in one place and to exhibit how Muslims all over the world are in fact practicing and thriving with a vegan lifestyle.

My suggestion for any content creators, documentary or otherwise, would be to find a gap in the educational material or niche market.

3.) What are some of the opportunities and challenges you faced?

I'm not a filmmaker by profession and I have never produced anything by myself. I only endeavoured to make this documentary because it seemed no one else was working on one specific to the Muslim community. This was a very daunting task to begin with, however I have been very lucky to find two wonderful volunteers for production assistance and some small funding to support the initiative.

4.) What advice do you have for someone who wants to create a documentary but doesn’t know where to start? What steps do you recommend they take?

I have been learning a lot about documentary filmmaking from YouTube and by meeting with industry professionals and asking for their advice. For anyone wanting to pursue a career in this field, I'd recommend taking at least a short course to learn all the tricks of the trade. 

Bo Gatarek

Bo is a humane educator and answered some questions for us about this career path. 

 1.) Can you tell us about your career as an educator?

I have been a college instructor for over twenty years, teaching mostly psychology and related courses, but I started merging my career with my humane views about ten years ago. This culminated in my receiving a Ph.D. in Humane Education. Over the last decade I have been involved in creating and teaching graduate courses in the field. 

2.) What are some ways you advocate for animals?

Working out of the platform of a graduate program in Humane Leadership has given me a plethora of opportunities to advocate for animals. As a scholar-activist not only do I teach about animal protection, but I am involved in hands-on activities through the community outreach program. Helping animals directly is just as important as teaching community members how to care for community cats or delivering a college lecture on animal ethics. 

3.) Any advice for someone who wants to be an educator?

My advice for those who want to become educators is to 'walk the talk,' Nothing works better than being authentic in your stances and actions for animals. I think of my work as a humane educator as a part of a greater puzzle, where everyone, from educators to lawyers to community rescuers to direct action activists, plays an indispensable and unique role for moving the cause of animal protection forward. 

Kieran Greig

Analyst at Farmed Animal Funders, studied actuarial science, major in math, minor in chemistry, did some engineering work, interned at charity science, part time at ACE, (website analytics), then charity entrepreneurship, joined farmed animal funders as an analyst (researching documentaries, finding an animal welfare group in Vietnam, gathering links, donor call, grant renewals, writing reports, trying to find the best funding opportunities for funders to help farmed animals)

Stephen Rykwalder

Below is a brief Q&A from an accountant who does this, Stephen Rykwalder. 

1. Can you tell us about your career in accounting?

“I started my career with PwC, the largest accounting firm in the world. I have since worked at publicly traded companies, as well as a small accounting firm that managed about 100 small businesses. I was given a conditional offer by the FBI to become a special agent because of my accounting background, but because of animal rights I ended up turning that down. I currently work for a large publicly traded HVAC company doing internal audit.”

1. What are some ways you advocate for animals? 

 “I have done everything from vigils and protests, volunteering at rescue sanctuaries, and doing cubes of truth to online social media activism. More importantly, I exist in a corporate world of meat eaters where I ensure everyone knows I'm vegan and why. To me, that is the most important form of activism. I also use the money I'm able to make from my career to help fund animal rights charities and people doing good things for the animals.”

      3) Any advice for someone who wants a career in accounting?

 “If you are going into accounting, do anything you can to get into one of the big four accounting firms when starting your career. If not one of those, find a good regional or national firm where you can get good public accounting experience. Additionally, get your CPA license as soon as you can. Those two things will open every door you need to find incredible success in accounting. This field always has a shortage of qualified people, so job security is huge. If you can take it a step further and make yourself more appealing, it will only serve you in the long run. Additionally, find ways to research data analytics and robotics, as this field is rapidly growing within accounting. There are lots of accounting roles at vegan companies, as well as vegan charities.”

       4) What are your thoughts on earning to give?

 “It is easy to hate on people with money, capitalism, etc, but in reality, these things can be used to our advantage in shifting to a vegan world. Don't be ashamed to make a lot of money, just do good with the money you make. Who do you think funds organizations like peta? We need more vegans who focus on building solid careers who can donate money to the organizations making a huge impact.”

Jason Schukraft

Senior Staff Researcher at Rethink Priorities, investigates how to allocate resources for helping various animals, moral weigh for various species, PhD in philosophy, neurology and imperative cognition, comparative biology, best done at a prestigious university, ideal career for someone already working on this (need more hard scientists), considerations for fish and insects, Effective Thesis Copy of Action-Relevant Philosophical Animal Welfare Research Questions, and Moral weight research

Jessica Scott-Reid 

Jessica is a journalist who uses her work to advocate for animals. She explains this in an interview with The Real Fur Film, found on their social media dated December 27, 2020. When asked “What are some ways that you help advocate for animals?”, Jessica replied “Through my work as a journalist I focus almost exclusively on animal, environmental, and food issues, exposing and informing on topics so often passed over by mainstream media. I also rescue and protest whenever I am needed and able.” Use headlines that are unique and attention-grabbing (and of course true), to use in the subject line when submitting to publications. Know that, however, they will likely come up with their own headline. Use credible sources to back up any points you make, cite them and include a reference or backlink. Write objectively. Write the way you talk - unless the tone of the publication is not casual. Check the tone of the publication by reviewing other articles first. Find publications that are interested in your topic. Make sure to bring value to your reader. For example, it can be easy to publish “how to” articles and listicles (ie. “10 substitutes for eggs in baking”, “35 reasons why I don’t drink cow’s milk” etc.). Consider applying as a volunteer writer for non-profit organizations. Finally, start with smaller publications and work your way up – you can backlink these as references to your writing capabilities when pitching via email.

Lucas Solowey

Lucas is an independent PR Consultant.

1) can you tell us about your career in PR?

My first PR opportunity was to coordinate a press conference for Pamela Anderson with PETA. The event made international headlines and helped bring attention to animal rights issues and the benefits of a plant based diet. Since then, I’ve worked with a variety of nonprofits, celebrities, ethical businesses, films and more. I’m currently doing the PR for a documentary film on fur in fashion (@realfurfilm on Instagram and www.realfurfilm.com).

2) What is the difference between PR and communications?

The main goal in public relations is to build and maintain relationships. Public relations practitioners must be excellent communicators, but the focus of those communications are to grow and strengthen relationships for the organization that they represent. Whereas, someone who works in communications may not have the same goals as the PR specialist.

3) What are some ways that you advocate for animals?

I have been vegan for 22 years and lend my time and skill set to many causes, including animal rights. I help advocate for animals via public speaking, media interviews, coordinating events, campaigns, and fundraisers. 

4) Any advice for anyone interested in this career?

PR is all about relationships, so take every opportunity to network and make connections! You never know who you might meet, and what career opportunities that could lead to. Most of my successes came out of meeting the right people at the right events!

Policy Organizer at Democracy Policy Network

Her story

• Can you tell me a little bit about who you are and what you do every day?

  • from New York

  • Psych major, did research work before

  • became vegan

    • why did you become vegan → read eating animals

  • did policy fellowship

  • was legislative intern

  • now does volunteer policy work for policy infrastructure

    • difference between think think and policy infrastructure?

      • this policy infrastructure is mostly volunteer led, think tank is a real term policy infrastructure is a not real term

  • now looking for federal level positions

• You seemed to transition from having an interest in medicine to an interest in animal welfare. What inspired that change? What got you interested in animal advocacy?

  • EA inspired me

  • I used to be just an angry vegan, read eating animals, then EA gave me ideas on how to turn the anger into action

• I saw you majored in Psychology and minored in Poly Sci, English and Film. What seems like a diverse set of majors/minors! What inspired you to pursue that combination of degrees and specifically a career in policy after graduation?

  • started off with psych

  • English and film was for fun

  • poly sci was added later after got better idea of what wanted to do

Policy Work

• For someone who knows nothing about policy work, could you describe what sort of types of positions are available and what the job consists of? Pretend I am a young student looking for my first policy internship and know nothing about the space.

  • 3 paths:

    • doing policy internship for non-profit

      • research policies relevant to farm animal welfare

        • try to convince legislators to pursue certain policies

        • communicate policy to people

      • building coalitions - get support of other organizations, get people to sign on a letter

    • working in government

      • work for a policy maker in leg branch

        • meet with lobbying group, research legislation, introducing legislation

      • work for department or agency and public servant

        • work for new york dep of ag

        • enforcing policy, get lobbied by different groups

    • work at a for-profit company

      • similar to non-profit but support the company

• how to find legislation?

  • research policy areas so you have context

    • if making your own, introduce it

  • every legislative body has a website that has all the bills that were introduced in every session (session = year)

    • this exists at every level of gov

  • you just sift thru

• I am going to pick a few phrases from your LinkedIn and ask more specifically about what they mean and what that looks like on the job

  • working with stakeholders

    • liaise with think tanks, academics, government officials, etc

  • spearhead, advance and research legislation

  • advised senator on co-sponsorship requests

  • writing memoranda, newsletters, talking points, op-eds, social media content, blog posts

  • form coalitions with allied organizations

  • participated in and organized conferences, roundtables, events, meetings

• What sort of person do you think would enjoy the work you are doing?

  • someone who is a good communicator - verbal and written

  • likes to meet with people

  • being a strategic person - if you're trying to advance an EA area, you need to be discrete

  • able to be tolerant of ppl who disagree with you or don't prioritize your issues

    • ppl prioritize what is on the news, what is timely, what has been traditionally important, prioritize what constituents want

      • example: covid and BLM

  • knowing how to write emails well

  • knowing how to communicate in a meeting - this is where people make their first impressions, gain people's respect

• What was your "in" at your current job? Your first job?

• What experiences or skills would make me marketable in your sector? What are the most important skills needed to succeed in your field?

  • good writing, a lot of applications ask for writing sample

  • HAVE GOOD CONNECTIONS, be good at networking

  • showing that you care about the issue

• What are the pros and cons of working on advancing in one job or industry versus moving laterally between jobs or industries?

• What do you like/dislike about your industry and occupation?

  • like

    • meeting new people

    • being able to near ppl who make decisions

      • half the battle is forming a good relationship who makes the decisions

      • do good work, build trust, later when you say you have an idea, people will listen

    • getting a success is hard but when it does happen, it feels amazing

      • what is an example success? → bill that reduces greenhouse emissions

  • dislike

    • a lot of BSing, lot of low impact filler stuff

    • policies that were not given thought or evidence or rooted in science

    • if always working with people who disagree with you, you need to take care of mental health

    • low pay

    • lots of nepotism

• Do you think more stem people should go into policy?

  • yes please