Meet The Faunalysts

Jah Ying Chung, The Good Growth Co.

Jah Ying Chung is a user and market researcher and the co-founder of The Good Growth Co. She has collaborated with Faunalytics on several projects and is a co-leader of the RECAP (Research to End Consumption of Animal Products) group. Her work focuses largely on qualitative and mixed methods research for the animal welfare and alternative protein industry in China. Previously, Jah Ying founded and sold a sponsorship platform serving students across the Asia Pacific, and ran climate change campaigns in China.

Maneesha Deckha, LLM

Maneesha Deckha is Professor and Lansdowne Chair in Law at the University of Victoria in Victoria, British Columbia. She has published in the areas of feminist animal studies, animal law and legalities, law and culture, and bioethics and reproductive law. She is a recipient of multiple national grants and has held the Fulbright Visiting Chair in Law and Society at New York University. She is the author of Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders (University of Toronto Press, 2021) and directs the Animal Studies Research Initiative at the University of Victoria. She is a graduate of McGill University, the University of Toronto, and Columbia University.

General Advisors

Lucas Alvarenga

Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with extensive communications and marketing experience, Lucas Alvarenga led Mercy For Animal’s launch in Brazil from its start in 2015 until 2018 when he stepped up to start overseeing the international expansion. His Marketing background, a Master Degree in Leadership, Team Management, and Innovation at PUCRS, and experience in supporting the launch of several programmatic initiatives in multiple countries brings a very important perspective to our movement: How to use data to support effective interventions to help farmed animals at a global level. Lucas led the Research Department at Mercy For Animals for nearly two years and today he serves as the Senior Vice President of International Development, overseeing MFA’s country and regional offices and its international expansion plan. When not working, you can find Lucas walking with his dog Gandhi at the beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

Kellie Heckman

Kellie Heckman combines her experience as a nonprofit executive and scientist to improve the lives of all animals in need. Kellie developed an appreciation for the unique ability of farm sanctuaries to promote compassion while serving as Executive Director of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries. She currently serves on the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary and Avian Welfare Coalition Board of Directors, and optimizes operations and maximizes fundraising opportunities for charities as the COO of Insurgent Campaigns. Kellie spends her free time being crafty in vegan-friendly St. Louis with her significant other and two cats rescued from animal experimentation.

Andrew Rowan, PhD

Andrew Rowan is the former director of the Tufts University Center for Animals and Public Policy. He also chaired the Department of Environmental Studies at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine. Andrew was the founding editor of the International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems, founding editor of Anthrozoos, and scientific administrator for the Fund for the Replacement for Animals in Medical Experiments. Andrew currently serves as president of WellBeing International, a new NGO that focuses on projects that deliver solutions for people, animals, and the environment.

Mandy Weeks-Green

Mandy Weeks is an attorney presently working with health care reform and regulation of insurance providers for the state of Washington. She has also served as a legal aid attorney, proving free legal services to low-income individuals and families and as a public defender. Mandy has volunteered for grassroots and national animal advocacy groups as well as providing direct care to animals through a wildlife rehabilitation center and to her companion cat, Ain. Mandy has a BA in political science and a JD.