On September 18th, Faunalytics is proud to present Fauna Connections, a free, virtual research symposium designed for animal advocates. This event brings together academics and scientists from the social and behavioral sciences and related fields to share original research with direct applications to animal advocacy.
Throughout the day, presenters will deliver concise, 10-minute talks followed by 5-minute Q&A sessions. Attendees will also have the opportunity to join breakout rooms for deeper discussion after each session. The event will feature a special keynote from Dr. Faraz Harsini of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection, as well as a panel discussion with Faunalytics’ own research team.
Save the Date: Fauna Connections Returns Thursday, September 17, 2026!
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Fauna Connections 2025 Schedule
(all times EST)
Welcome & Introduction
12:00pm – Welcome by Faunalytics Research Director Allison Troy
12:05pm – Keynote Speaker: Dr. Faraz Harsini, Allied Scholars for Animal Protection & Good Food Institute – Veganism: A Moral Urgency And The Neglected Role Of University Advocacy In Animal Liberation
With over a decade of experience studying global challenges such as pandemics, cancer, and the food system, Dr. Faraz Harsini will discuss why transforming our food system is key to addressing some of the world’s most pressing issues. He will share how focusing on universities and promoting veganism through a systematic, data-driven approach can create meaningful and lasting change.
Dr. Faraz Harsini is a biomedical and food system scientist, the Founder and CEO of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP), and the Cultivated Meat Senior Scientist and Bioprocessing Lead at the Good Food Institute (GFI).
ASAP is a nonprofit that empowers students in top universities to advocate for animals, public health, and the environment, while guiding them toward careers that address the most urgent global challenges. Dr. Harsini leads efforts to build lasting infrastructure for student activism across campuses, helping them create long-term impact through education, outreach, and institutional change.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering with a focus on process design and nanobiotechnology, a Master’s in biotechnology and cancer research, and a PhD in cell physiology and molecular biophysics. Before joining GFI, he worked in the biopharmaceutical industry as a scientist in protein expression and process development, developing therapeutics for cancer, influenza, COVID-19, and other diseases.
With more than a decade of experience in health and environmental sciences, Dr. Harsini has come to recognize the central role of the food system in driving global problems. Through his work, he aims to bring this understanding to universities and inspire the next generation of scientists, policymakers, and advocates.
Neglected Regions
12:25pm – Siyao Shi – Better Lives For Farmed Animals In China: Why It Matters To The World
This expert overview examines how farmed animal welfare is changing in China by combining recent research, policy updates, and on-the-ground experience. It highlights both the improvements being made and the structural challenges that remain. As China is the world’s largest producer of farmed animals, changes there have wide-reaching implications. By clearly mapping what’s working, what isn’t, and why, this overview helps advocates and organizations make better-informed decisions, design more effective strategies, and understand how China’s approach fits into global efforts to improve farmed animal welfare.
Siyao Shi is the China Research Manager for Compassion in World Farming. She holds degrees in zoology and biology from the University of Toronto, and her MSc research at the University of Edinburgh focused on duck behavior and welfare. Her work promotes science-based welfare improvements through on- farm assessments, technical guidance, and policy advocacy. She authored one of China’s first animal welfare policy briefs and has delivered multiple guest lectures at the City University of Hong Kong. Outside work, she co-runs an animal shelter and advocates for animal welfare through her blog.
12:40pm – Thomas Manandhar-Richardson – Global Food Security Without Factory Farming
How do we ensure people around the globe can afford a healthy, enjoyable diet without spreading factory farming to every country? Many decision-makers, from governments to the United Nations, believe that intensive animal agriculture is the path to global food security. To counter this narrative, the animal advocacy movement needs a strong, evidence-based understanding of farmed animals and food security, as well as viable alternatives. Current strategies focus on a narrow range of arguments such as “feed food competition” (where farmed animals consume crop calories that could be eaten by humans).
Richie is the Director of Research at Bryant Research, a social-science think tank exclusively serving the animal advocacy movement and alternative protein sector. He specializes in food security, the economics of food systems, and advanced statistics, and leads Bryant’s AI consulting. He is also the lead data and AI consultant at Greener by Default, where he uses data and AI to help institutional foodservice providers implement sustainable, plant-forward menus that taste great and preserve freedom of choice.
12:55pm – Yara Moussa – The Landscape Of Animal Advocacy In Egypt: Insights Into Stray, Wild, And Farmed Animal Rights
This research examines the landscape of animal advocacy in Egypt, a nascent and growing field in one of Africa’s largest economies and most densely populated countries. Noticing the current dearth of data on the topic, our research addresses a critical knowledge gap. By synthesizing data and research findings focusing on stray, wild, and farmed animals, the paper critically analyzes current practices and trends in each of these areas, highlighting the main challenges and opportunities facing the growth of the movement. Through our findings we highlight and suggest priority areas for impactful advocacy efforts, and propose recommendations for the sustainable growth of the animal advocacy movement, ensuring it is integrated into both institutional and local social practices.
Yara Moussa is a researcher and program manager with 12 years of experience working at the intersection of social justice, nature conservation, and sustainability across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the UK. She holds an advanced degree in Biodiversity, Wildlife, and Ecosystem Health from the University of Edinburgh. Her current work focuses on integrating cultural perspectives into the safeguarding of biodiversity, ecological systems, and environmental management.
Break (15min)
Fish & Aquaculture
1:25pm – Rhiddhi Patel & Vaishnavi Vasanth – Understanding The Link Between Aquaculture And Public Health
The purpose of this expert overview is to examine the link between aquaculture and public health. By synthesizing existing research, our study highlights how poor, unsustainable inland aquaculture practices and disregard of fish health and welfare are linked to fish disease, antimicrobial resistance, and pollution, which threaten public health and food safety. It underscores the importance of enforcing and updating laws and policies to ensure sustainable aquaculture and reduce public health risks. By connecting good aquaculture practices and animal health and welfare to human health outcomes, it aims to influence policymakers to prioritize fish welfare as a critical issue.
Rhiddhi Patel holds a law degree (2011) and has six years of corporate experience. She later transitioned to animal protection, writing for vegan publications and earning a post-graduate diploma in Animal Protection Laws from NALSAR in 2019. A 2021–2022 alumna of the Ahimsa Fellowship, she was trained to engage with Indian government bodies on animal law enforcement and policy advocacy. She currently works as a Policy Consultant at Fish Welfare Initiative India Foundation, where she focuses on improving fish welfare in aquaculture while promoting sustainability, food safety, and public health through a cross-sectoral approach.
Vaishnavi Vasanth is working as a Researcher with Animal Law & Policy Network. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in law in 2019 and went on to work with the Nudge Foundation as a Consultant. After working on sustainable poverty alleviation projects, she pursued an M.A. Human Rights Degree at Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany). She has been with ALPN since September 2024 and is working on farmed animal advocacy projects related to aquaculture and poultry in India.
1:40pm – Spencer Roberts – How To Use The Fishing Industry’s Own Data Against It
Fishes are the most hunted animals in the world. The fishing industry amasses immense quantities of data detailing the exploitation and persecution of marine life. While advocating for fishes is socially challenging, we have an array of analytical tools at our disposal that do not exist for other animals, which we can use to illustrate and expose the immense scale and toll of marine life extraction.
Spencer Roberts is a marine ecologist studying at the University of Miami and an environmental journalist featured in publications like The Intercept, The Nation, Nautilus, and Wired. His doctoral thesis is focusing on the exploitation and conservation of endangered marine fishes, stressing the imperative of rediscovering fishes as wildlife, for their sake and our own.
Legislation
1:55pm – Amal Arafath – Can Animals Be Legal Persons? A Global Synthesis Of Rights-Based Legal Recognition
This synthesis explores how animals have been recognized as legal persons in various jurisdictions through courts and legislation. It compiles existing rulings, constitutional amendments, and advocacy strategies to understand when and how animals have gained legal subject-hood. This review is important for helping advocates and policymakers identify successful legal arguments and routes to achieving meaningful protections beyond welfare laws.
Amal Arafath holds a Master’s degree in International Business Law, awarded with distinction. She has over three years of experience in the legal field and is currently interning with the Parliament team at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka. She has a strong interest in animal law and is committed to advancing legal reforms to improve animal welfare in her home country. Her research explores global approaches to animal law with the goal of informing effective, rights-based legislative change within Sri Lanka’s legal framework.
2:10pm – Dr. Tayler Zavitz – When Empathy Becomes A Crime: The Repression And Criminalization Of Animal Activism In Canada
This overview examines the historical and ongoing repression of animal rights activists in Canada, addressing the under-explored question of how state and private actors criminalize dissent to protect the animal industrial complex. By synthesizing existing research on social movement repression and incorporating overlooked Canadian activist perspectives, this work fills a critical gap in the understanding of the Canadian animal rights movement. This synthesis is vital for animal activists, providing them with historical context, legal insights, and strategies that can inform smarter, safer, and more resilient approaches to advocacy in increasingly hostile political environments.
Dr. Tayler Zavitz brings a combination of scholarly insight and dedicated activism to the animal rights movement. She is the Campaigns Specialist at Animal Justice, Canada’s only national animal law advocacy organization, and holds a PhD in Sociology, specializing in Critical Animal Studies. Her doctoral research offered a deep dive into the history of the animal rights movement in Canada, its repression and criminalization, and the emotional experiences and responses of animal activists to their repression. She is a passionate and long-time animal activist, with extensive experience collaborating with various non-profits and local organizations to advance animal protection.
Animals Used In Testing / Science
2:25pm – Nicole Valdebenito – Our Advocacy Formula: Getting Involved In The Cosmetics Ecosystem For The Animals
For 10 years, we’ve been dedicated to influencing the Latin American cosmetics industry ecosystem with the ultimate goal of saving animals used in research or cosmetic testing. We’ve realized that a formula for impact is repeated successfully: Getting involved in the ecosystem, becoming a key player to be seen as partners by government and private organizations, and thus being able to truly generate change for the benefit of animals. We’ve systematized this formula to make it valuable to other organizations.
Nicole Valdebenito is the Co-founder and Advocacy Director at Te Protejo. She is a journalist and social communicator with more than 12 years of experience in team leadership, content generation, content editing, management and relations with key actors, and political and corporate advocacy. She oversees the advocacy area at the organization, leading community campaigns and corporate and legislative advocacy. She has been recognized with the Rose Grant entrepreneurship award in Mexico and the Lush Prize in Public Awareness in 2017 together with Te Protejo. Currently, she is pursuing a Master’s degree in Feminist Studies and Intervention for Equality at the University of Valladolid.
2:40pm – Kathrin Herrmann – Unveiling The Illusion: Exposing The Structural Inertia Of Animal Experimentation In Biomedical Science
This expert overview synthesizes research on the systemic drivers sustaining animal experimentation in biomedical science, highlighting how institutional inertia, commercial interests, and educational norms perpetuate its dominance despite poor translatability to human health outcomes. By exposing these mechanisms — often obscured by humanewashing and ethical complacency — this synthesis advances understanding of the structural forces impeding the adoption of human-relevant, non-animal methodologies. It provides educators and advocates with analytical tools to challenge prevailing narratives and empower early-career scientists to foster a paradigm shift toward more ethical, scientifically sound practices rooted in human biology.
Dr. Kathrin Herrmann holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Freie Universität Berlin and is a veterinary specialist in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics, and Law. She serves as a Senior Associate at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT), where she directs the Beyond Classical Refinement and Education programs. In this role, she leads international training initiatives that advance the transition to human-relevant, non-animal research methods. Dr. Herrmann’s work bridges science, education, and policy to promote a research culture rooted in animal ethics and a sense of moral responsibility toward nonhuman animals.
Break (15min)
Messaging & Advocacy
3:10pm – Billy Nicholles – A Neglected Climate Argument: The Environmental Case For Vegan Pet Food
There is now a strong and growing body of research demonstrating health and environmental benefits for cats and dogs fed nutritionally sound vegan diets. However, there is a widespread lack of understanding in scientific communities, animal advocacy organizations, and the general public regarding the environmental impacts of pet food. In this talk, Billy Nicholles summarizes the findings of his recent comprehensive analysis of studies on the environmental impacts of meat-based versus vegan pet food. He lays out the environmental ‘paw-prints’ of different pet food choices, addresses the specific impacts of animal byproducts, and makes the environmental case for transitioning dogs and cats to nutritionally sound vegan diets.
Billy Nicholles is a researcher and business professional specializing in the pet food protein transition. He is a Researcher at Bryant Research, a U.K.-based research consultancy specializing in the protein transition, where he conducts research related to pet diets, with a focus on the environmental impacts of meat-based versus vegan pet food. He has published on the sustainability of pet diets and on consumer attitudes towards alternative proteins. He was also formerly a Founders’ Associate at Omni, one of the U.K.’s leading vegan pet food companies. He has spoken internationally on the pet food protein transition.
3:25pm – Rob Udale – Framing Animal Freedom: Messaging That Meets People Where They Are
This overview will present the last three years of message-testing research Animal Think Tank has been conducting to identify which communication strategies most effectively increase public support for animal freedom. The goal is to understand how framing the issue can shift attitudes by meeting people’s psychological needs for identity, agency, and belonging. By drawing on our experiments and insights from social and cognitive science, this synthesis offers advocates evidence-based guidance on what kinds of messages are most likely to resonate with different audiences.
Rob Udale gained his PhD in Cognitive Psychology at the University of Bristol. He currently works at Animal Think Tank as a quantitative social researcher. His research focuses on narrative change, message testing, and attitude change. Before he became an animal advocate, his past research focused on understanding cognitive mechanisms such as working memory, cognitive training, and decision making.
3:40pm – Samantha Derrick – How Students Are Changing Campus Food Culture — And What The Data Tells Us
This presentation explores how student-led efforts across universities are shifting campus culture around food from meat-centric norms to plant-forward values. Drawing on data from the Plant Futures Student Chapter Network, we synthesize research and real-world outcomes on how education, community-building, and institutional engagement normalize plant-based eating among non-vegans. Our goal is to highlight the scalable strategies students are using to make plant-based the new normal, and how this cultural shift lays the groundwork for systemic change in food procurement, education, and career development.
Samantha Derrick is the Founder and Executive Director of Plant Futures Initiative, a nonprofit, academic course, and global student movement advancing a plant-centric food system through education, leadership, and cultural change. She has grown it from a UC Berkeley course into an international network. Samantha holds a Master of Public Health from UC Berkeley and has worked in environmental and food justice across the U.S., Mexico, and India. A native Floridian and first-generation Mexican American, she lives in Mexico City and enjoys music festivals, travel, plant-based cuisine, farmers markets, and the beach.
Break (15min)
Closing
4:10pm – Dr. Andrea Polanco & Zach Wulderk – How Advocates Can Understand And Assess Research – A Conversation With Faunalytics
In an age of information overload, how can animal advocates discern what research to trust, and how to apply it effectively? Join Faunalytics for an engaging conversation on how to critically evaluate research and make data-driven decisions in your advocacy. Whether you’re new to using research or looking to deepen your skills, this session will offer practical tools for interpreting study results, identifying credible sources, and understanding the impact of different research methods. You’ll come away with greater confidence in reading, assessing, and applying research to strengthen your campaigns and make a greater impact for animals.
Andrea is a social science researcher at Faunalytics with a PhD in animal welfare science from the University of Guelph. With both an academic background and experience in grassroots advocacy, Andrea is passionate about how research can inform and strengthen the animal advocacy movement — from understanding the psychological factors that shape people’s attitudes and behaviors toward animals to examining equity within the movement itself. She is driven by a belief in collective liberation (the idea that no group can be free while others are oppressed) and seeks to align her research and advocacy with that vision. Andrea also values rest and joy, which for her include birding, discovering new TV shows, and relaxing with her cat companion Zupa/Sopa (‘soup’).
After years of advocating for animals outside of work, Zach decided to make his passion for animals his career. He has a background in economics and political science, graduating from Wesleyan University with a BA in Government, and worked for several years in both economic consulting and economic development before joining the Faunalytics team. Zach is a self-professed R nerd and is always looking for new applications for his favorite software. Outside of work, Zach is often playing music with his band, trying out new vegan recipes, or taking too many pictures of his rescue cats, Zucchini and Hippo.
4:40pm – Closing Comments by Faunalytics Executive Director, Brooke Haggerty
Brooke Haggerty has 18 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, with a career devoted to animal protection. She became executive director of Faunalytics in January 2020, following more than a year as our operations manager. Before joining Faunalytics, Brooke served as executive director and later as a board member for the Foundation for Animal Care and Education. She also worked as a humane educator and campaigns director at the Animal Protection and Rescue League.
Brooke’s commitment to the nonprofit field extends beyond animal advocacy. She has served as a board member and programming chair for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of San Diego, as well as a board member for HandsOn San Diego. She remains actively involved in mentorship through her alma mater’s student services program.
In 2022, she was honored as one of the “40 Top Business Leaders Under 40” by the San Diego Business Journal. A prolific public speaker, Brooke regularly presents on topics related to animal advocacy and nonprofit leadership. In 2025, she delivered a keynote address at the Society for the Psychology of Human-Animal Intergroup Relations’ biennial conference.
Brooke holds an MA in Human Behavior and a BA in English, along with certifications in Marketing, Nonprofit Management, and Strategic Management. In her free time, she enjoys classic literature and the great outdoors.
End / Networking Social
4:45pm – Networking
A casual social for folks to connect and chat!
