2021 Speakers
It is our enormous privilege to collaborate with several exceptionally talented, insightful activists from across the movement who have offered to speak at this event. You can learn more about each of our accomplished speakers below.
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Jane Velez-Mitchell is the founder and content editor of Jane Unchained News, a multi-platform social media news outlet that produces original video content on animal rights and the vegan lifestyle. She has won four Genesis Awards/commendations from the Humane Society of the United States for her reporting on animal issues, and VegNews named Velez-Mitchell Media Maven of the Year in 2010. In 2013, Mercy for Animals awarded her their Compassionate Leadership Award, and in 2014, she was honored for fighting animal abuse by the Animal Legal Defense Fund. In 2015, she received the Nanci Alexander Award at PETA’s 35th anniversary.
For six years, she hosted her own show on CNN Headline News, where she ran a weekly segment on animal issues. Previously, Velez-Mitchell reported for the nationally syndicated Warner Brothers/Telepictures show Celebrity Justice, where she did numerous stories on animal issues championed by celebrities. Velez-Mitchell is the author of four books. Her 2014 nonfiction New York Times bestseller, “Exposed: The Secret Life of Jodi Arias,” offers a detailed psychological analysis of a salacious trial that gripped the American public.
pattrice jones
pattrice jones is a cofounder of VINE Sanctuary, an LGBTQ-led refuge for farmed animals that works for social and environmental justice as well as animal liberation. More than 700 animals live at the sanctuary, co-creating their unique multi-species community. Their method of rehabilitating roosters used in cockfighting is used by sanctuaries around the world, and their solar-powered sanctuary is driven by an ecofeminist understanding of the intersections among the ways that humans hurt animals, each other, and the environment.
Christopher Sebastian
Sebastian is the director of social media for Peace Advocacy Network, he sits on the Advisory Council for Encompass, he is a senior fellow at Sentient Media, he is co-founder of VGN, and he lectures at Columbia University in the Department of Social Work for the graduate course POP: Power, Oppression, and Privilege. Using a multidisciplinary approach that includes media theory, political science, and social psychology, he focuses on how human relationships with other animals shapes our attitudes about race, sexuality, and class. Learn more about the Peace Advocacy Network below.
Paul Shanahan
Paul is 40 years old and a Taurus. He’s always been a bit of a black sheep, having always been and done the opposite of what people and society expect, with mental health problems and being gay and vegan. Like a typical Taurus/Ox, when he had mental health problems he was told to take medication, and instead he chose meditation. When he injured his back, he was told to do yoga, and he did Qigong. Now he’s also vegan. Following the crowd has never been his thing, and it's where he believes his strength comes from.
No-Egg Greg (Gregory Lane)
Gregory Lane is a licensed esthetician, anti-oppression activist, and organizer of the Vegan LGBTQIA+ Massachusetts Facebook group. As someone within the LGBTQIA+ community, he strives to bring local queer vegans together and lift each other up. Greg brings 10 years of knowledge in the esthetics field, and he regularly offers Zoom classes on vegan makeup tips and tricks, how to shave properly, skincare techniques, and product knowledge.
Drew Maxwell
Drew is 27 years old and lives in Massachusetts. She uses she/her pronouns and identifies as pansexual. She started my business in 2016. When she was 17, she was diagnosed with a progressive chronic illness that left her unable to work a regular job. She started cake decorating as a hobby to do while she was doing her home health infusions because she always loved baking. As someone who has suffered with food allergies, she wanted to provide accessible options for people of all kinds!
Her business, For Goodness Cakes Desserts, provides custom and specialty desserts that accommodate a variety of dietary restrictions and lifestyle choices. As a disabled, queer person, inclusivity is something she prides herself on. She believes life is short and should also be sweet! She also donates annually to as many charity events as possible, and she is always looking for ways to give back to the communities she holds close to her heart.
Maritsa Cortés
Maritsa Cortés founded Lancaster Vegan Meats and then purchased Lancaster Vegan Cheese Co. and is now merging the two to become Lancaster Vegan Deli. She is currently a local, small-batch B2B wholesaler, but she plans to enter retail soon. Maritsa Cortés is a Lancaster, PA native. She is also a certified WFPB nutritionist, weight lifter, foodie, and graphic designer amongst many other things.
Kyle Luzynski
Kyle is the founder, Executive Director, and Chairperson of Project Animal Freedom. Kyle earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy from St. Louis University in May 2020 with plans to complete a Master’s Degree in nonprofit management. His major areas of focus include environmental, business, and animal ethics, and he spends most of his spare time fighting to abolish factory farms, slaughterhouses, and other animal-abusing institutions. In 2016, he had the honor of being named the highest-scoring member of the All-Missouri Academic Team from a potential pool of 100,000 applicants. He was also one of just 40 incoming students at SLU to be named an MLK Scholar. Recognizing funding as the greatest limiting factor to our continued rapid growth, he strongly encourages you to become an official Project Animal Freedom Movement Builder today. What are you waiting for? Invest in the future of the Midwestern animal rights movement and discover all of the perks to doing so today!
Register today!
Advancing LGBTQIA+ representation and inclusion in the animal rights movement, supporting phenomenal queer-founded and LGBTQIA+ businesses, and celebrating all things queer and vegan are all steps we can take to not only build the humane economy, but also increase the overall vitality of our movement. What are you waiting for? Register for our first annual Gay Vegan Expo today!