Week 1:

Animal Advocacy: The Foundations

In this first week, you’ll get a solid foundation in animal issues. We’ll discuss the concept of animal rights and animal protections, the major areas of animal suffering, the damage of animal exploitation, our biggest challenges in animal protection, and different types of animal advocacy organizations in Canada and beyond.

Animal Sentience, Rights and Exploitation
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

The State of Animals Exploited for Food: In-Depth
Geoff Regier Former Undercover Investigator

The State of Animals Exploited in Experiments
Charu Chandrasekera, Founder and Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods, University of Windsor

The State of Exotic Animals Exploited for Entertainment
Rob Laidlaw, Executive Director, Zoocheck Inc.

Animal Agriculture and the Global Environmental Impact Dr. Tushar Mehta, ER Doctor & Co-founder of Plantbaseddata.org

The Importance of Language in the Animal Movement
Lesli Bisgould, Law Professor, University of Toronto

PANEL: The Range of Advocacy Organizations in the Animal Protection Movement
Varun Virlan, Animal Save Movement
Ali Valentine, GLO Farm Sanctuary
Camille Labchuk, Animal Justice
Brittany Semeniuk, Animal Welfare Consultant, Winnipeg Humane Society
Jason Hannan, Professor, Chair of Winnipeg VegFest

The State of Animals Used in the Food Industry: Introduction
Kimberly Carroll, Animal Justice Academy Director & Coach for Changemakers

The State of Animals Exploited for Fur and Other “Textiles”
Lesley Fox, Executive Director, The Fur-Bearers

The State of Dogs, Cats, and other Animal Companions
Liz White, Director, Animal Alliance of Canada & Leader, Animal Protection Party of Canada

The State of Exotic Animals Exploited for Entertainment
Rob Laidlaw, Executive Director, Zoocheck Inc.

The Health Impact of Eating Animals
Dr. Pamela Fergusson, Vegan Registered Dietitian

Who Our Opponents Are and the Systems to Challenge Them
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

Q&A: with Week 1 Faculty Members & Participants’ Speed-Connecting Sessions
Geoff Regier, Former Undercover Investigator
Dr. Tushar Mehta, ER Doctor & Co-founder of Plantbaseddata.org
Lesley Fox, Executive Director, The Fur-Bearers
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

Week 2:

Advocacy in Our Communities

We'll be exploring how to be effective and inclusive animal advocates at work, at school, in our neighbourhoods, institutions, and social communities. You’ll learn about effectively engaging those in your close circles, intersectionality, getting more vegan products on menus and shelves, building diversity in the animal movement, and influencing businesses and institutions to be more animal-friendly.

How to Navigate Animal Rights with Family, Friends, and Colleagues
Melanie Joy, Psychologist, Author, Founding President of Beyond Carnism

Influencing Businesses on Animal Issues
Sayara Thurston, Campaigner

Effective Communications in Advocacy Situations
Lucas Solowey, PR and Communications Specialist

Fundraising for Animal Initiatives Through Your Communities
Anthony Johnson, Director of Development at Toronto People With AIDS Foundation

PANEL: Animal Advocacy at Work, School, and in Communities
Darina Bockman, President, Vegan Leaders in Corporate Management
Nital Jethalal, Toronto Vegetarian Association President & Kareena Jethala, Student Animal Advocate
Sailesh Rao, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Healers
Matthew A. King, President & Co-Founder, Christian Animal Rights Association
Nandita Bajaj, Administrator, University of Toronto Schools & Mike Farley, Geography and Environmental Studies Teacher, University of Toronto Schools

Animal Justice = Food Justice = Social Justice
Angela Lee, Assistant Professor, Ryerson University Faculty of Law

Getting Vegan Products on Menus and Shelves
Paulina Vargatoth, HSI Canada

Every Day Activism
Rebecca Owen "Vegan Pixie Warrior"

Cornerstones for Supporting Racial Equity in the AR Movement Michelle Rojas-Soto, Managing Director at Encompass

Engaging Kids in Animal Issues Mary-Chris Staples, Veg Student Alliance

PANEL: Intersectionality: Allying with other Social Justice Movements
Gwenna Hunter, Founder of Vegans for Black Lives Matter
Calvin Neufeld, Evolve Our Prison Farms, Transgender Advocate
Eric Vautour, Anishinaabe Vegan & Animal Rights Advocate
Isaias Hernandez, AKA Queer Brown Vegan, Environmentalist
PJ Nyman, Corporate Relations Specialist, Mercy for Animals & Gender Equity Advocate

Week 3:

Engaging in the Political System

Let’s get political! We'll explore simple ways to get involved politically on the federal, provincial, and municipal levels to help promote animal-friendly and plant-based political initiatives and legislation.

Overview: Getting Involved Politically to Help Animals
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

10 Tips for Changing Laws
Sophie Gaillard, Lawyer & Director of Animal Advocacy, Montreal SPCA

Why Animal Advocates Should Lobby for Electoral & Democratic Reform
Dave Meslin, Community Organizer & Author of TEARDOWN: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up

Government Food Policy We Can Push For
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Member of Parliament, Liberal Party of Canada

Supporting (& Creating) Animal-Friendly and Veg Legislators
Andrew Goodridge, Parliamentary Assistant, Parliament of Canada

Practising meetings with legislators - give three scenarios you’d like to work with

PANEL: Zoonosis: Exposing the Link Between Animal Use and Pandemics
Dr. Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH, President & CEO, Center for Contemporary Sciences
Melissa Matlow, Canadian Campaign Director, World Animal Protection
Dr. Tushar Mehta, Co-founder of Plantbaseddata.org
Dr. Jan Hajek - Clinical Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, University of British Columbia

The Difference Between Federal, Provincial, and Municipal Animal Protection Laws
Peter Sankoff, Professor, University of Alberta, Faculty of Law & Animal Justice Board

Lobbying for Animals: How to Influence Policymakers
Gabriel Wildgen, Policy Fellow, Harvard Law School & Past Campaigner

Being Strategic About Legislative Change for Animals
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

Getting Political at the Local Level
Lesley Fox, Executive Director, The Fur-Bearers

PANEL: From the Mouths of Elected Politicians: Advice for Lobbying for Animals
Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament, Green Party of Canada
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Member of Parliament, Liberal Party of Canada
Karen Messier, City Councillor - Beaconsfield, Québec, Vegan Advocate for Animals & the Environment

Week 4:

Exposing Animal Exploitation

The animal exploitation and abuse that happens in North America is mostly behind closed doors and hidden from by the majority of society. We explore a variety of ways to expose animal suffering to the public and keep government and corporations accountable. We’ll cover abuse reporting, planning demonstrations and actions, nonviolent strategy, utilizing complaint systems, knowing your rights, pressure campaigns, dealing with conflict, and the invasion of ag gag laws.

The Invasion of Ag Gag Laws in Canada
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

Demonstration Planning
Jenny McQueen, Co-founder of Animal Rights Toronto

Reporting Animal Abuse
Kaitlyn Mitchell, Staff Lawyer, Animal Justice

Know Your Legal Rights While Advocating for Animals
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

Intro to Nonviolent Strategy
Freeman Wicklund, Nonviolent Strategy Trainer, Boundless Love Project

PANEL: Grassroots Actions to Expose Animal Abuse
Anita Krajnc, Founder of Animal Save Movement
Priya Sawhney, Co-founder, Direct Acton Everywhere
Amy Soranno, Meat the Victims
Jenny McQueen, Co-founder of Animal Rights Toronto

The Difference Between Federal, Provincial, and Municipal Animal Protection Laws
Peter Sankoff, Professor, University of Alberta, Faculty of Law & Animal Justice Board

Lobbying for Animals: How to Influence Policymakers
Gabriel Wildgen, Policy Fellow, Harvard Law School & Past Campaigner

Being Strategic About Legislative Change for Animals
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

Getting Political at the Local Level
Lesley Fox, Executive Director, The Fur-Bearers

PANEL: From the Mouths of Elected Politicians: Advice for Lobbying for Animals
Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament, Green Party of Canada
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Member of Parliament, Liberal Party of Canada
Karen Messier, City Councillor - Beaconsfield, Québec, Vegan Advocate for Animals & the Environment

Week 5:

Expanding Your Influence & Engaging Media

This week is about how to expand your sphere of influence in order to amplify animal issues and messages. We'll explore how to produce engaging social media content, getting letters to the editor and other print pieces published in mainstream media, starting a vegan business, tips on how to be interviewed, using your creativity to advocate for animals, how to increase your Google search rankings, the power of visual mediums in animal advocacy, and even vegan investing.

The Importance of Getting Media Coverage
Camille Labchuk, Executive Director, Animal Justice

Bad Ass Vegan and How He's Harnessed Media for the Power of Good
John Lewis, “Bad Ass Vegan” & Director of “They’re Trying to Kill Us”

Tips for Being Interviewed for Traditional and Online Media
Kimberly Carroll, Coach for Changemakers, Animal Justice Academy Director

Taking Media Into Your Own Hands
Jane Velez-Mitchell, former CNN anchor and animal champion

Roundtable: Producing Captivating Video
Nick Schafer, Videographer/Editor/Director
Jenny McQueen, Activist, Co-founder of Animal Rights Toronto
Gabriel Nadler (Gaia’s Eye) Animal Rights Activist, Musician, & Vegan Entrepreneur

PANEL: Starting a Vegan Business
Stephanie Redcross, Vegan Mainstream Founder
Roger Yang, Vegan Restaurateur - Avelo & Pizzeria Du
Tina Stokes, Founder, Vegan Stokes Cheese
James Yurichuk, CEO & Founder, Wuxly Movement

Using Social Media Effectively
Shannon Nickerson, Communications and Development Manager, Animal Justice

Getting Letters to the Editor & Opinion Articles Published
Jessica Scott-Reid, Journalist

Investing Options for Animal Advocates
Claire Smith, Beyond Investment

Get Your Animal Advocacy Content Ranking on Google
Mikko Järvenpää, Founder of Sentient Media

Getting Animal Issues into Mainstream Media
Matt Zampa, Reporter and Editor with Sentient Media

PANEL: Using Your Creativity to Advocate for Animals
Jo-Anne McArthur, Photojournalist, Founder of We Animals Media
Donald Vincent, Poet, Writer, Creative Director
Sonia Faruqi, Author of Project Animal Farm
Chantal Poulin Durocher, Art-ivist

Week 6:

Empowering Yourself as an Advocate

We’ll explore how you can be the most effective and enduring advocate for animals possible. We’ll look at how to have an optimal activist mindset and cultivate emotional and physical wellness -- from practicing healthy boundaries to processing the pain of doing this work to tips to optimal vegan eating to bringing mindfulness to activism.

Healthy Boundaries and Expansive Habits
Kimberly Carroll, Coach for Changemakers, Animal Justice Academy Director

Dealing with Trauma as an Animal Advocate
Shawna Gray, Clinical Social Worker, Ceg-A-Kin Nakoda Nation

Vegan Cooking and Eating Made Easy
Amy Symington, Nutrition Professor and Plant-based Chef

Techniques for Processing Pain and Healing Compassion Fatigue
Kimberly Carroll, Coach for Changemakers, Animal Justice Academy Director

What if you Were Stranded On a Desert Island?: Answers to Questions Animal Advocates ALWAYS Get Asked
David Prince, Philosopher/Professor

PANEL: Being a Thriving Vegan as a Form of Activism
Anna Pippus, Author, The Vegan Family Cookbook
Dr. Matthew Nagra, Naturopathic Doctor
Shashi Dissanayake, Urban Gardener & Vegan Chef, Recipe Developer
Anne-Marie Campbell, Animal Rights Activist, Vegan Athlete, Published Author, and Founder of MeatFreeAthlete.com

Tips for an Optimum & Satisfying Vegan Diet from a 30-Year Vegan & Dietitian
Jack Norris, Vegan Dietitian & Vegan Outreach Founder

Tools for Better Focus, Motivation, and Productivity
Kimberly Carroll, Coach for Changemakers, Animal Justice Academy Director

Meditation and Mindfulness for Strengthening Animal Advocates
Lama Tashi Nyima, Buddhist Teacher and Animal Activist

A Yoga Routine for Animal Advocates: Heart Centering Practice
Stephanie Kittell, Yoga/ Movement/ Mindfulness Facilitator, Co-Founder of www.spaceof.love

PANEL: Animal Justice Academy Action-Takers

Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF COMMITMENT?
Right now, this program is self-paced, so you decide how much time you want to put into each week.

If you'd like to join the community live, we hold biweekly 1 hour Lunchtime Live sessions. We also recommend putting a little time aside to take part in the weekly AJA Actions.

How much you decide to participate is up to you… just keep in mind that this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to grow yourself into a truly powerful force for animals.

DO I NEED TO BE CANADIAN TO DO ANIMAL JUSTICE ACADEMY?
We are based in Canada, but we welcome international folks to the program! There will be quite a few references to situations in Canada, but the lessons and tools are pretty universal.

HOW DO I JOIN THE AJA PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP?
As soon as you register for Animal Justice Academy, you'll receive an email with instructions on how to access the Facebook group.