2017 Program

Home on the Range with Movie-Maker CFEI Presenting

Screenings Saturday at 11am and Sunday at 2pm. Home On The Range is a benefit compilation CD album and documentary film project presented by the 501c3 non-profit organization CFEI (Compassionate Farming Education Initiative). The album includes exclusive songs by musicians who are passionate about supporting animal rights issues and creating awareness about farm animal sanctuaries. Contributing recording artists include: Moby, The Pretenders, Yoko Ono, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Howard Jones, Nellie McKay, Warshow Angels, Bright Eyes, Princess Superstar, The Giving Tree Band, The Color Fred, Modern Day Alchemy, Last Amendment, Stephen R Burroughs, Dropa, The Lovestains, Justin Sane, Joy Askew, Early Melodic Animals, and Sin Corporation. Proceeds from the sale of this CD and download are donated to the following non-profit farm animal sanctuaries: Catskill Animal Sanctuary, Happy Trails Farm Sanctuary, Kindred Spirits, and Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.

Vegan: Everyday Stories

Screening Sunday at 5pm. Vegan: Everyday Stories is a feature-length documentary that explores the lives of four remarkably different people who share a common thread - they're all vegan. The movie traces the personal journeys of an ultramarathon runner who has overcome addiction to compete in one hundred mile races, a cattle rancher's wife who creates the first cattle ranch turned farmed animal sanctuary in Texas, a food truck owner cooking up knee-buckling plant-based foods, and an 8-year-old girl who convinces her family of six to go vegan. There are a number of great movies focusing on why to go vegan or featuring people new to veganism, but this movie spotlights how everyday people and their families, each pursuing their own careers, hobbies, and passions live their lives while following a vegan lifestyle. The movie follows ultrarunner Yassine Diboun as he journeys miles into the wilderness, running from a past that deeply affected his family and nearly cost him his life; and Renee King-Sonnen, who fell in love with the farmed animals on her husband's ranch and was determined to do whatever she could to create a sanctuary; and Jerri Hastey owner of food truck Seed On The Go who wishes to share delicious eye-catching food with the masses; and young Genesis Butler who at the tender age of 3 asked her mom where her chicken nuggets came from and now she's on a quest to protect all animals in the world. The movie is not only about vegan folks living their everyday lives, it is being created and funded by the community! The movie is a project of Northwest VEG, a 501c(3) charity, so all donations are tax-deductible.

Vegucated

Screening Saturday at 5pm. Part sociological experiment and part adventure comedy, Vegucated follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. Lured by tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover the hidden sides of animal agriculture that make them wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough. This entertaining documentary showcases the rapid and at times comedic evolution of three people who discover they can change the world one bite at a time.

What the Health with Q&A by Co-Executive Producer Sailesh Rao

Screenings Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 11am. What the Health is the groundbreaking follow-up film from the creators of the award winning documentary Cowspiracy. The film follows intrepid filmmaker Kip Andersen as he uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases – and investigates why the nation’s leading health organizations don’t want us to know about it. With heart disease and cancer the leading causes of death in America, and diabetes at an all-time high, the film reveals possibly the largest health cover-up of our time. With the help of medical doctors, researchers, and consumer advocates, What the Health exposes the collusion and corruption in government and big business that is costing us trillions of healthcare dollars, and keeping us sick.

Velonda Anderson, PhD

Velonda Anderson, PhD, is a well-known health promotion educator, author, professor and nutritionist specializing in nutrition coaching and plant-based diet meal makeover education. She has provided fitness direction for corporate, small businesses, and individuals since 1979. She is currently the manager of the City of Detroit Health Department’s Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program and is also a nutrition professor for South University Online. Dr. Anderson has completed doctoral studies in the field of nutrition and health promotion. She is the author of several educational cookbooks; “Beyond Candied Yams and Sweet Potato Pie,” her second book; “Pass the Sweet Potatoes, Please!” her first book. She is also the author of “Calm under Fire,” a motivational resource discussing the power of positive self-talk. She published her first children’s educational coloring book entitled “Amaya’s ABCs to Good Nutrition” in November 2016. She has been seen cooking up delicious dishes as a regular guest on Fox2 (WJBK) Meatless Mondays program, and recently appeared on WXYZ-TV/TV 20 to demonstrate a vegan/vegetarian holiday dessert from her cookbook.

Suman Barkhas

Suman has traveled as a yoga monk, teaching Yoga and Tai chi throughout forty-six countries and currently resides in Eugene, Oregon USA, as a holistic wellness coach. Suman first recieved training in yoga and tai chi in Mongolia and China. He Studied with tai chi masters Dr. Paul Lam in USA  and Jan Gun De  of Beijing University China. Suman took initiation in classical yoga meditation in 1991 and in 1993 took yoga monk training in Benares, India. And studied Social Service Work 1993-1994 in Ydresfors, Sweden, at the International School of Social Service. Following these trainings, he taught yoga as well as taichi and promoted social service throughout Asia, Europe, Scandinavian countries and last 17 year in the United States. Suman has been teaching about 20-22 classes a week locally focusing in yoga, meditation, tai chi, qigong, and yoga therapy. He is also director of the Yoga school, 200/500 hours by National Yoga Alliance "Holistic Yoga Teacher Training" 200 and 300 hours certification programs. He is also involved with the Tai Chi - Moving for Better Balance fidelity workgroup for the Oregon Health Authority and is responsible for all new 600 instructors trainings. Totally trained over 1200 Tai chi instructors throughout USA. Now he works part time teaching "Holistic Health" program at Oregon Heart and Vascular Institute affiliated with Peace Health non profit organization and traveling to teach internationally.

Andrea Bell

Wilfredo Benitez, MSN, M.Ed.

Will offers nutrition counseling to those looking to improve their health, wellness, and for the physically active, their performance. Whether your goals are to enhance your athletic performance, recover or prevent injury, manage or prevent symptoms, increase your energy, or manage your weight, Will provides individualized services and plans to help you along your journey. Will's mission is to empower you through this process at a pace that is appropriate and sustainable. As a former teacher and high school coach, Will is also passionate about working with our youth and adolescents to foster healthy habits for proper development. www.onpacewellnes.com.

Beverly Lynn Bennett

Beverly Lynn Bennett is an experienced vegan chef and baker, writer, and animal advocate who is passionate about showing the world how easy, delicious, and healthy it is to live and eat as a vegan. A certified foodservice operations manager, she earned her culinary arts degree in 1988 from the University of Akron, Ohio, and in the years that followed, gained much practical experience working in and managing vegan and vegetarian restaurants and natural foods stores.

Beverly is the author of Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Recipes, Almond Flour, Spiralize!, KALE The Nutritional Powerhouse, CHIA, Vegan Bites and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Slow Cooking. She is also the coauthor of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Living, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vegan Cooking, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Gluten-Free Cooking.

Her work has appeared in many national and international print publications, on public television and DVD, and all over the internet. She has hosted The Vegan Chef website at veganchef.com since 1999 and authored the long-running column "Dairy-Free Desserts" in VegNews magazine.

Beverly currently lives and works in the vegan-friendly city of Eugene, Oregon, where her love of organic, healthy, and exciting foods fuels a passion for developing innovative vegan recipes. Her work appeals to a wide assortment of tastes and offers enticing alternatives to those with dietary restrictions of all sorts. In her spare time, she can often be found advising others on all things vegan, developing new culinary creations (an increasing number of which are raw and/or gluten -free), and helping to educate on issues including animal rights, environment, and health, through cooking demos and speaking engagements.

Brandee Bice

Brandee was born in Villa Elisa, Paraguay and raised in Jupiter, FL. Her love for dance started when she was 3 years old and still continues on. Brandee danced competitively in middle school and was on her high school's Dance Team for all 4 years where she was captain her senior year. She also was in chorus and did color guard and winter guard with the school's marching band. In July 2016, Brandee and her girlfriend took a trip to Oregon to visit and fell in love with Portland. One month later they moved out to Portland and that is when she came across Pure Barre. Already living a healthy plant-based vegan lifestyle and having a movement background Brandee became inspired by Pure Barre's fitness technique to the point it became addicting. "Pure Barre is such a positive environment, loving, and a fun workout. I love taking class and feeling so strong afterwards that I feel I can take on the world. I have to be strong to save all the animals." While not working and teaching at Pure Barre, Brandee loves to hike, eat lots of delicious food, volunteer at animal sanctuaries and speak out for animals.

Jenny Brown

Jenny Brown is a longtime animal rights advocate and Co-Founder of Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in High Falls, New York--one the country’s most recognized and respected sanctuaries for farmed animals. She previously worked in film and television until when she went undercover in Texas to film farmed animal abuse. That experience led her to dedicate her life to helping farm animals and raise awareness of their plight. Jenny’s story and the work of her sanctuary has been featured in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, NPR, and more. She is the author of an award-winning memoir-with-a-mission The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight For Farm Animals.

Genesis Butler

Becoming vegetarian on her own volition at the age of four and vegan at the age of six, Genesis has gone from strength to strength in her animal advocacy. Genesis has picketed circuses, given speeches to her local governors, been interviewed on news stations and set up her own foundation, Genesis for Animals, to raise money for animals in need – all before her tenth birthday. She is featured in The Vegan Movie and in a recent TedX talk, and speaks with people around the country at protests, at council meetings, and as a tireless vegan advocate.

Steven Christian

Born and raised in Sacramento, CA, Steven grew up playing sports his whole life. Mainly football, basketball, and baseball. He was fortunate enough to excel in football and earn a scholarship at the University of Hawaii. During his college career, he injured his hips and had to get hip surgery. It was then that he began to explore art and comics. It became an avenue of self-expression as well as therapy. Jump to 3 years later, he hung up the cleats, received his Master of Arts from Oregon State, and is now studying to apply to Medical School. In hopes of reinventing himself as a visual artist, he aims to create a series that reflects his environment, and inspire and promote creativity.

Jackie Day, JD

Jackie Day successfully fought to rid California public schools of soda. She’s pleaded before a school board to rescue a pig being sold for slaughter at the county fair in Miami. And she’s spoken on the evening news on behalf of fish in Malibu. Aptly hailed as a “mover and shaker” by the American Public Health Association, Jackie believes there isn’t a creature too big, or too small, when it comes time to stand up – and speak out – for their wellbeing.

Jackie Day began her career as a Health Educator in Los Angeles in the late 90′s. While teaching, she served as a Coordinator of the Linking Education, Activity and Food (LEAF) Grant, and as a Health Policy Consultant for Public Health Advocates. After initiating the formation of Students for Public Health Advocacy, Jackie quickly made national headlines for innovative work in children’s health policy.

Jackie has been featured on the CBS Evening News, CNN, NPR, and TIME Magazine - and was the subject of the PBS documentary, Tipping the Scale: an in-depth investigation of the childhood obesity epidemic. Jackie and her students have been credited with providing the grassroots activism that led to the unanimous 7-0 LAUSD School Board Vote to end the sale of soda during school hours on all LAUSD school sites. This strategic success provided an impetus and foundation for elected officials to author and pass state laws eliminating the sale of soda from all public schools in the state of California.

Jackie Day received a Teacher of the Year Award from the Los Angeles County Department of Education and is the recipient of the 2002 Healthy School Hero Award, presented to her by the National Education Association at the United States Healthy School Summit in Washington D.C.

At the state level, Day was selected to serve as a Co-Chair of California Senator Tom Torlakson’s Task Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness. California Project LEAN, and the California State PTA have also honored Jackie for her teaching excellence and activism. As a result of her successful advocacy work, Jackie was selected to serve as a Health Policy Consultant for the Kaiser funded Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) campaign.

Jackie has been vegan for nearly 30 years and currently teaches health and psychology – and just published her first book, The Vegan Way: 21 Days to a Happier, Healthier Plant-Based Lifestyle That Will Transform Your Home, Your Diet And You (Macmillan).

Kyle Delaney

Kyle DeLaney is a vegan powerlifter who trains at Kabuki Strength Lab in Clackamas, Oregon. Born and raised in New Jersey, Kyle relocated to the Portland area in 2015. Having always been fascinated by strength, Kyle began lifting weights at 16 to help with his performance in the shot put, but it wasn't until 2014 he became really serious about his training for powerlifting. He was inspired by the hardcore bands he grew up listening to such as Earth Crisis and One King Down to stop eating meat in 2005, and eventually cut out dairy as well in 2009. Follow his journey on Instagram: @plantxpowerxpdx

Jane Esselstyn, RN

Jane Esselstyn RN is a fresh, charismatic voice who brings her perspective and passion as a nurse, researcher, mother, and teacher to the forefront of the plant-based movement. She presents her work, research and high energy demos all over the country. Her annual conference, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease for Women, focuses on the power of a plant-based approach to eliminate this #1 killer of women and other preventable, lifestyle related diseases. Jane says, "Prevention is the New Cure!" And the most powerful, relevant, and protective tool known today is a plant-based diet.

Jane is an avid and inventive designer of plant-strong recipes and the co-author of The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. She created the recipe sections of #1 NYTimes bestseller, Plant-Strong and The Engine 2 Seven Day Rescue, by Rip Esselstyn. And she is co-author of The Engine 2 Cookbook (pub date 12/17). Jane brings her high energy and straight forward message to her presentations, food demonstrations, and cookbooks with clarity, hilarity, and a can-do attitude.

Jane and her husband Brian Hart live in Cleveland Ohio with their 3 plant-based children. Jane graduated from the University of Michigan, where she competed as a nationally recruited swimmer and varsity rower.

Sid Garza-Hillman

Bringing humor, excitement, and inspiration to the healthy living world, Sid Garza-Hillman, the Small Step Advocate, author of Approaching the Natural: A Health Manifesto and host of the Approaching the Natural Podcast, distills his years of research into super-accessible, unforgettable presentations. Garza-Hillman believes the closer we move by degrees to our natural design in physical nutrition, movement, socializing, and what he calls “mental nutrition” (journaling, meditation, mindfulness, creativity), the healthier and happier we will be in the modern world. Sid is also the Programs Director & Certified Nutritionist at Stanford Inn's Mendocino Center for Living Well and Director of the Stanford Inn's Ravens Restaurant.

Ellen Jaffe Jones

Ellen Jaffe Jones is an inspiring motivational speaker, personal trainer, running coach, author, and instructor of healthy cooking classes.

An avid runner, Ellen has placed in 117 (so far) 5K or longer races for her age group since 2006 (including 6 Senior Grand Masters Awards), and was 1st in her age group in FL in the 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1500 meter races. She just improved her national ranking by competing in all track events at the 2017 National Senior Games. She scored the Bronze medal in the 4x1 100 Meter Relay, 5th in the 800 meters, 7th in the 400 meters and 1500, 14th in the 200, and 16th in the 100 meters in her age group. In 2013 she placed 7th in the 1500 meters, 10th in the 400, 16th in the 200, and 19th in the 100 meters. Getting better with age "just" on plants.

Ellen was voted the 2014 PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Sexiest Vegan over 50 after a global contest that included hundreds of contestants.

Ellen spent 18 years in television news as an investigative reporter, and has eaten a vegan diet for most of the past 35 years. She has won the highest awards in broadcasting, including two Emmys and 1st Place for the National Press Club's Consumer Reporting Award. After leaving television, she earned high returns for her clients as a financial consultant at Smith Barney, where she was dedicated to socially responsible investing.

She is certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America as a personal trainer and running coach. Ellen blogs at VegCoach.com and broadcasts live streaming her weekly "Vegan Myth Busters" radio segment as part of the Dr. Don Show on KAAA and KZZZ. She teaches cooking classes locally in Sarasota/Bradenton and to national audiences at vegfests and book festivals.

Her newest release is Vegan for One (with Beverly Lynn Bennett). Other titles include the best-seller Eat Vegan on $4 A Day, Kitchen Divided, and Paleo Vegan (co-authored with Chef Alan Roettinger).

Scott Jurek

Named one of the greatest runners of all time, Scott Jurek has become a living legend. He has claimed victories in nearly all of ultrarunning’s elite trail and road events including the historic 153-mile Spartathlon, the Hardrock 100, the Badwater 135- Mile Ultramarathon, and— his signature race—the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, which he won a record seven straight times. Scott’s solo accomplishments have also taken the running world by storm--including the Appalachian Trail’s thru-hike speed record, averaging a stunning 50 miles a day over 46 days—and the United States all-surface record in the 24-Hour Run with 165.7 miles: 6.5 marathons in one day.

Off the trail, Scott is a New York Times-bestselling author for his memoir, Eat and Run, has been prominently featured in several publications, and is the star of the international bestseller, Born To Run.

Scott currently resides in Boulder, CO with his wife, Jenny, and newborn daughter, Raven.

Joel Kahn, MD, FACC

One of the world’s top cardiologists, Dr. Joel Kahn has treated thousands of acute heart attacks during his career. HIs long-term experience has lead him to combine the best of western medicine and nutritional and complimentary therapies for prevention and total healing. He now has launched a campaign to prevent 1 million heart attacks through healthy living.

Deb Kay

Deb Kay is a Certified Vegan Fusion Cooking Instructor having over thirty five years cooking experience at home and professionally, the last ten years concentrating on plant based cuisine. Deb’s trained with award winning vegan chefs: Mark Reinfeld, owner of Vegan Fusion and author of five cookbooks including the 30-Minute Vegan Series, and Chef Al Chase, owner of the Institute of Culinary Awakening. Deb has been teaching workshops and classes in the Pacific Northwest for seven years.

Debbie Kho

You can call me a “skin care nerd” (aka Debbie), but my official title is licensed aesthetician. I specialize in problematic skin from tween, teen and adult acne to sensitive and rosacea skin. While I’m working to address the imbalances in your skin, I also want to pamper you and help you de-stress. I love it when clients tell me that they walk out feeling like a brand new person. http://spalakeoswego.com/

Alex Lannon

Alex of Fat Chance Coaching wants to live in a world where moving and nourishing your body has nothing to do with morality. As a Health at Every Size Personal Trainer and Health Coach, she focuses on dynamic movement and functional fitness. When they are not powerlifting, you can find her writing country songs or cooking delicious vegan meals. As a long time activist and counselor, Alex is especially excited to work with lgbt clients, fat folks, vegans, punks, survivors, those in eating disorder recovery and anyone who feels alienated by the mainstream health and fitness movements. Find out how to get pumped and feel pumped at fatchancecoaching@gmail.com and follow fatchancecoach on instagram.

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Dr. Mangels is a well-published researcher and dietetics professor specializing in vegetarian and vegan nutrition, and is best known fo her research regarding vegan and vegetarian nutrition for infants and children.

Craig McDougall, MD

Dr. McDougall is a board-certified internist who completed his residency at Oregon Health & Science University after obtaining his MD from the Ohio State University College of Medicine. His practice at Zoom+ features a 90-day personalized health coaching service, with an emphasis on increasing daily movement and moving towards a plant-based diet in order to reduce or reverse chronic disease.

Sarah Van Nest

Sarah Van Nest has been lifting weights for 16 years and began lifting heavy about 5-6 years ago with a heavy focus on powerlifting / competing for 2 of those years. Originally from Jackson Mississippi she moved to Portland, OR in July of 2011 and says it was one of the best decisions she ever made for herself. The other great decision Sarah says she has made in her life was embracing veganism. Sarah has been an ethical vegan for over 5 and a half years. She is a body positive feminist and tries her best to incorporate her values into everything she does. She also loves cats and couldn't live without black clothing, coconut oil, or radical self love and vulnerability. You can follow her on Instagram @buxombaphomet

lauren Ornelas

lauren Ornelas is Food Empowerment Project's founder and serves as the group’s executive director.  lauren has been active in the animal rights movement for more than 30 years. She is the former executive director of Viva!USA, a national nonprofit vegan advocacy organization that Viva!UK asked her to start in 1999. While lauren was the director of Viva!USA, she investigated factory farms and ran consumer campaigns. In cooperation with activists across the country, she persuaded Trader Joe’s to stop selling all duck meat and achieved corporate changes within Whole Foods Market, Pier 1 Imports, and others, and she helped halt the construction of an industrial dairy operation in California. lauren was also the spark that got the founder of Whole Foods Market to become a vegan. In addition, she served as campaign director with the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition for six years. Watch lauren’s TEDx talk on The Power of Our Food Choices. Learn more about F.E.P.’s work at foodispower.org and veganmexicanfood.com.

Adrienne Orpheus

Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Adrienne began dancing and playing music at a very young age. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, she moved to Great Britain to earn her master's degree in textiles. She worked as an elementary school teacher in Boston before going to Los Angeles to pursue her artistic career full time. While in Hollywood, she tried many different forms of exercise, determined to find one that she enjoyed. Then she took Pure Barre for the first time and fell in love instantly. She knew from her very first Pure Barre class that she wanted to be a part of the Pure Barre family. After moving to Portland for a change of pace, she found her new Barre home at Pure Barre - Lloyd, and is thrilled for the opportunity to share her love of Barre with the community.

Nancy Perry, JD, MA

Nancy Perry is the senior vice president of ASPCA government relations, overseeing legislative and regulatory policy reform at the local, state and federal levels. This team works to end horse slaughter, prevent animal fighting, provide access to spay/neuter resources, expand housing for people with pets, combat puppy mills, enhance tools for law enforcement in addressing animal cruelty, enhance farm animal welfare, and generally improve animal protection laws.

Prior to joining the ASPCA, Nancy served as president of government affairs for The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for 16 years, leading congressional and state legislative teams and 20 ballot measure campaigns. She holds a law degree, a masters in communications and has taught animal law as an adjunct professor for George Washington University for 15 years. She lives on a farm in Maryland with her husband, Jon, and two rescued horses, two rescued dogs and an assortment of house and barn cats.

Sailesh Rao, PhD

Sailesh Rao is the Founder and Executive Director of Climate Healers, a non-profit dedicated towards healing the Earth’s climate. A systems specialist with a Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, conferred in 1986, Sailesh worked on the Internet communications infrastructure for twenty years after graduation. In 2006, he switched careers and became deeply immersed, full-time, in the spiritual and environmental crises affecting humanity. He is the author of the 2011 book, Carbon Dharma: The Occupation of Butterflies and the 2016 book, Carbon Yoga: The Vegan Metamorphosis. He is the Co-Executive Producer of the trilogy of documentaries, The Human Experiment (2013), Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014) and What The Health (2017), which explore the systemic causes of human and environmental ill health and of the forthcoming documentary, The Compassion Project.

Joelle Rash

After spending years sitting at a desk, Joelle discovered Jazzercise as a FUN way to get moving and round out a healthy lifestyle. Soon after falling in love with the program, she became an instructor at Milwaukie-Sellwood Jazzercise Studio, and enjoys the opportunity to motivate others. She spends her days working for the 100% vegan food distributor, Earthly Gourmet, and has served NW Veg as Eastside Potluck Coordinator for many years.

Jazzercise is a pulse-pounding, beat-pumping fitness program that gets you results…fast. It’s a calorie-torching, hip swiveling dance party with a hot playlist to distract you from the burn.

This year, Jazzercise launched the GirlForce initiative, offering free classes for ages 16-21 through 2017, empowering teens and college-aged students by providing a safe place to exercise and experience a sense of positive community.

Jeanne Hansen Schultz

Jeanne is the founder of Upcycling Creations and is a plant-based, vegan instructor and teacher. She teaches group or individual plant-based cooking classes, creates Home School Plant-Based Cooking Videos and she features one of a kind hand made items created from upcycled materials. Jeanne has been a NW Veg volunteer for 6 years and enjoys helping out in many capacities including helping out with potlucks and VEG 101 and VEG Fest. Jeanne cherishes the opportunities she gets to interact with others who are also interested in plant-based diets, sustainability issues and compassionate living. She loves being able to share the tips and techniques she uses in her own kitchen to make other’s journeys just a little bit more enjoyable. Jeanne was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for over 25 years and has been vegan since 2011. Jeanne received her Level II Vegan Chef training through Vegan Fusion in Portland, Oregon with Mark Reinfeld. She also holds an undergraduate degree in Art Therapy, a Master’s degree in education and is a retired special education teacher.

Rachel Stein

Rachel Stein (moderator) is a competitive powerlifter and feminist killjoy living in Portland. She is a lifelong athlete and has been lifting since 2013; she holds several Oregon State records. Her favorite thing about powerlifting is the focus on getting bigger and stronger, not thinner. She is a member of the PlantBuilt team, and currently trains at Kabuki Strength Lab in Clackamas. Rachel is passionately committed to intersectional feminism, equity, and social justice, and is a program manager at a local economic justice organization. She has been vegan since 2005 and vegetarian since 1997. You can follow her lifting and travel adventures and see photos of her food and cats at instagram.com/fistifluffs/.

Linda Tyler, PhD

Linda Tyler is a passionate cook and baker, workshop leader, writer, researcher, and recipe-curator, intent on helping vegan cooks win omnivores over to plant-based eating. Her website, www.graciousvegan.com, is dedicated to sharing well-tested vegan recipes (her own and links to favorites) and menu ideas. She summarizes and shares research on the psychology of food preferences, food neophobia, the “meat paradox,” trials involving meat substitutes, and other topics that vegans can use for planning what to serve to non-vegans to prevent turning them off to plant-based choices. She writes and edits for the websites Nutritionfacts.org and Faunalytics.org. She and her husband and cat live in Portland, OR, where Linda gives frequent cooking demonstrations for NW Veg and other organizations.