Dr. Mylan Engel
Born in Alabama and educated at Vanderbilt University and the University of Arizona, he was hired by Northern Illinois University in 1988. Engel has also served as Guest Professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria (1999) and University of Maribor, Slovenia (1999–2002). Engel's specialties are epistemology, philosophy of religion, Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid, animal ethics, and environmental ethics.
Engel is a "moral vegetarian" (vegan)—the belief that we are morally obligated to refrain from eating meat—and has argued that virtually all humans hold beliefs that, if consistently applied, would make them moral vegetarians as well.[2]
In his spare time, Engel practices the ancient art of karate. He also offered a beginners course for students at Northern Illinois University. Professor Engel has been Executive Secretary of The Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals since September, 2002.

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JoAnn Farb
JoAnn Farb is a former microbiologist, and the author of Compassionate Souls - Raising the Next Generation to Change the World, one of the very first vegan parenting books. She is a national speaker, and publisher of the FEASTLawrence Newsletter. JoAnn uses big picture holistic thinking to connect social justice, with environmental sustainability and health. She and her husband live in Kansas and have two grown life-long vegan daughters.  Learn more at her website: JoAnnFarb.com 

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Sarina Farb
Sarina Farb is a science educator, critical thinker, and a passionate activist dedicated to making the world a better place for all beings. Born and raised vegan in Kansas, she has unique insights about creating positive change. Her essays about growing up vegan and dealing with “pushback” have been published in books and online. She has founded several grassroots vegan groups and is also a member of the American Vegan Society's speakers bureau. Sarina earned a B.A. in biochemistry with a concentration in policy studies at Grinnell College, and is passionate about bringing holistic critically thinking and ethics into science curricula and the education system in general. Visit her website and YouTube channel to learn more!

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Robert Grillo
Robert Grillo is an activist, author and speaker for all species rights. He is also the founder and director of Free from Harm, a  non profit dedicated to helping end animal exploitation. As a communications professional for over 20 years, Grillo once worked on large food industry accounts where he acquired a behind-the-scenes perspective on food branding and marketing. His recent book, Farm to Fable: The Fictions of Our Animal-Consuming Culture explores the powerful narratives driving our culture of mass animal consumption.
Other published works include contributions to Caged: Top Activists Share Their Wisdom on Effective Animal Advocacy and Circles of Compassion: Connecting Issues of Justice. In addition Grillo writes articles for Free from Harm and curates work from other leading authors.

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Rae Sikora
​Rae Sikora has been a full-time spokesperson for other species and the environment for more than 40 years. She is co-founder of Plant Peace Daily, VegFund, Santa Fe Vegan, and the Institute for Humane Education. Rae leads compassionate living and ethical consumerism programs internationally for diverse audiences ranging from schools and prisons to businesses and universities.
She is the co-author of Plant Peace Daily, Everyday Outreach for People Who Care, and Sowing Seeds Humane Education Handbook. She is also author of the soon to be published books Sharing Home, Compassionate Living Curriculum, and Little Jew on the Soul Train. Rae lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her partner, JC Corcoran, and their continuously changing crew of rescued animals.

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Dr. Adam Woods
​Dr. Adam Woods is a plant-based physician, researcher, motivational speaker, and vegan bodybuilder from North Liberty.  An Iowa native, Dr. Woods attended Drake University, Princeton University, and the Duke University School of Medicine after serving in the United States Air Force. He completed his residency at the University of Iowa and currently practices as an adult and child psychiatrist while keeping a strong interest in primary care and public health. While fairly new to the vegan lifestyle, Dr. Woods has experienced massive improvements in his own health and athletic performances, including recently competing in his first bodybuilding competition. Dr. Woods goal is to spread the message of hope about plant-based diets all over the world. You can follow is work at veggieshrink.org, his YouTube channel, as well as Instagram at @veggieshrink.

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Carol Throckmorton
Carol Throckmorton graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Food and Nutrition-Dietetics. Following several years in general clinical practice, she discovered that her passion was cardiology. When she heard that Dr. Dean Ornish’s Lifestyle Heart Trial would be conducted at the Des Moines hospital where she worked, she knew this was her calling. The patients were required to follow a vegetarian, low fat diet, and she thought the most effective way to teach it was to observe it herself. She became vegetarian on January 1, 1994. She served as nutrition educator throughout the 5-year project and regards it as the pinnacle of her career. When the research project finished, Carol continued teaching whole-foods, plant-based nutrition in an outpatient setting for people with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, gastrointestinal disease, excess weight, and a myriad of other medical problems. Seeing her patients experience improvements in their health was extremely gratifying throughout her 30-years in dietetic practice. During her career, she taught hundreds of nutrition classes to several thousand people, both in clinical and community settings. Although now retired from dietetic practice, Carol continues to provide guidance for those exploring a vegan lifestyle.
When Carol became aware of the magnitude of farm animal cruelty and exploitation and the effect of animal agriculture on the environment, she became vegan. Recognizing the social and educational needs of people observing a whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle, she was instrumental in forming the Vegetarian Community of Iowa (Des Moines), and after moving to Coralville in 2008, she formed the Unitarian Universalist Society’s vegetarian interest group (2012) and the Vegan Community of Eastern Iowa (2017). The UUS Vegetarians and the VCEI sponsor bi-monthly get-togethers for dine outs, potlucks, and educational programs.
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