CAA welcomes Lucia Skinner De Gregorio to our board of directors. Learn more about Lucia and how she got involved with speaking out for animals and CAA below.

Lucia is passionate about raising awareness about the cruelty and injustices perpetrated against nonhuman animals. With a spirit of ethical stewardship and service, Lucia hopes to work toward inspiring a more empathetic and mindful society. In her past board role with MN Women’s Consortium, she focused on outreach and strategy and served on a special committee alongside their Executive Director focusing on the development of the Young Women’s Advisory team and organizing their meetings.

Lucia has also been an active volunteer at Spring Farm Sanctuary. She initially became involved with them as a farm hand. She is now a tour guide and part of their marketing team. She also has event planning experience and is excited to become more involved with the Twin Cities animal advocacy community!

Lucia initially connected with empathy, compassion, and mindfulness being at the center of CAA’s mission. “I love that CAA is intentional in its outreach and, in doing so, careful to not create an atmosphere that is non-inclusive,” said Lucia, adding, “I believe that there is always room for growth and improvement where inclusivity in an organization is concerned, and it can be commonplace within the vegan community for it to be taken for granted. I would love the see veganism embraced and recognized as accessible to all.”

Raising awareness in the general public about animal cruelty is certainly high on the priority list. Lucia believes that one of the largest obstacles the animal advocacy movement faces is speciesism or the idea that humans are inherently more valuable than any other species, and that awareness itself of the violence perpetrated against nonhuman animals does not necessarily guarantee change.

Speciesism has brought about the devastating degradation we have inflicted on our planet and on other living beings. “I’ve always viewed the endeavor to resolve injustices to be one best attempted by treating a problem at its source. To me, the injustices we experience within our own species (racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, etc) are problems built upon the foundation of hierarchical thinking, which is embedded in our cultural––referring specifically to Western/American here––psyche in the shape of humans being inherently superior to non-humans,” said Lucia. “I genuinely believe that if we can humbly and lovingly spread the word that we humans are a part of, rather than apart from nature––we can begin to see a shift in our treatment of said nature.

Lucia loves connecting with others, building community and mutual support, and bridging divides through humility, empathy, and love. Her greatest desire is to do work that protects and defends animals, and she believes that her life’s trajectory will reflect a pursuit of that.

She cares deeply about intersectional thinking and recognizing that the inequalities and injustices we know within our own species are deeply interconnected with those which exist at an interspecies level.

In her free time, Lucia enjoys writing and spending time with Mona the dog. We are thrilled to have Lucia serving as our newest board member. If you see her at an upcoming outreach or community event, be sure to say hello!

Interested in joining CAA’s board of directors? Our board meetings are open to prospective members. If you are interested in attending a board meeting, email board@exploreveg.org to find out when the next board meeting will take place.

Meet Haley Hastings, the president of the Compassionate Action for Animals student group at Augsburg University (also known as CAA Augsburg Vegan Club). Haley is a Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies major from New York state working towards graduate school in social work. When she’s not advocating for animals, you might find her gardening or playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Haley found out about CAA through the Augsburg chapter last summer. After being vegan for seven years, she was drawn to joining the group by more opportunities to be a vegan activist. “I’d never really done any activism besides telling my friends and family about what happens in farms, so it seemed like a really good way to make a difference in something that really mattered to me,” said Haley.

Her favorite volunteering memories are from working pay-per-view and hearing people say that they planned to go vegan that day after viewing the video. “It’s incredible to me to be able to affect the life of that person in just a few minutes, and to help all of the animals they would’ve eaten otherwise.”

As president of the new chapter, Haley is focused on growing the group this year and increasing awareness and recognition of the club. The group plans to focus on a few key events this semester in addition to an ongoing discussion about adhering to a vegan lifestyle, including food giveaways around Halloween and finals week. They also are looking to organize a fall farm sanctuary trip.

One of her favorite things about the Augsburg group is the community space it provides for new and established vegans alike. “One member of my group has felt very isolated because she didn’t know any other vegans before coming to the club,” said Haley. “It’s good to have a sense of community.”

The Augsburg group was formed spring 2018. Its tight-knit group ties their veganism back to the animals and invites all (vegan and non-vegan alike) who are curious about plant-based living and animal rights.

This spring, they plan to become involved with the Augsburg Environmental Fair and increase their presence at other campus events. Haley looks for opportunities to connect the Augsburg group with other CAA events and volunteer opportunities outside their chapter.

She is proud of her group and looks forward to its future possibilities. “I’m really grateful for both Augsburg and CAA. They’ve both been incredibly helpful and supportive in setting up this new club and I’m really excited to see where it leads.”

If you’re a college student in the Twin Cities looking to become involved with one of our CAA student groups, visit our campus page to learn more. (High school students are welcome, too!) Weekly meetings have started up for this fall semester, and we have other upcoming volunteer opportunities listed here.

Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) is fortunate to have not one, but two student chapters in the Twin Cities. The chapters at the University of Minnesota and Augsburg University campuses have fast become hubs for more peer-to-peer advocacy. Fun fact: the two campuses happen to be anchored around the Hard Times Cafe, a local vegan and vegetarian restaurant.

We connected with Marina Kirkeide, chair of the University of Minnesota chapter and Haley Hastings, chair of the Augsburg University chapter to learn about how their groups are doing and what they have planned for this fall semester.

“Overall, our group is doing pretty well. We have about 12 really consistent members right now with more that come and go a bit, but you can do a lot of events with 12 people participating,” said Marina. “I think most members are here because they want support with their lifestyle, but most came to that lifestyle because of the animals and a smaller portion for health and environmental reasons.”

The Augsburg group is newer than the University of Minnesota group, having started spring 2018. “One member of my group felt very isolated because she didn’t know any other vegans before coming to the club,” said Haley. “It’s good to have a sense of community.” Members of the small but strong group went vegan for the animals and invite all (vegan and non-vegan alike) who are curious about plant-based living and animal rights.

Both prioritize making their groups a safe, inclusive space for all members to learn, grow, and explore compassionate, plant-based living together in their roles as chapter chair.

“Our group has some staple events like pay-per-view, food giveaway, bake sale, and dine-outs but I think the real point is just having a place to meet with like-minded people every week,” said Marina about the University of Minnesota chapter. “A lot of people do not get much support or help from friends and family when they become vegan or vegetarian, so it’s nice to have a place to share experiences whether that be venting or small victories. My favorite thing about the group is definitely the friendships I have made and seen other people make.”

In the past year at the University of Minnesota, the biggest change has been that meetings have become a lot more focused on activities for students and less on the planning of events. The majority of the planning is instead done by students in leadership roles, enabling other members to focus on being present at their advocacy events.

“In addition to two food giveaways and a planned farm sanctuary trip, I’d love for the club to be involved with the spring environmental fair at Augsburg,” said Haley. “I’m mainly focused on growing the group and making people aware of us.”

The existence and growth of the two groups indicate an exciting shift toward more people practicing compassionate, plant-based living. Students doing peer-to-peer advocacy create events that end up reaching more folks, contributing to a larger future impact. We are grateful for our student chapters and the work they do!

If you’re a college student in the Twin Cities who is looking to become involved with one of our CAA student groups, visit our campus page to learn more. (High school students are welcome, too!) Weekly meetings have started up for this fall semester, and we have other upcoming volunteer opportunities listed here.

This year marked some big additions for Twin Cities Veg Fest. We were in a new event space (thank you Harriet Island Regional Park!) and hosted 100+ vendors, new activities, more cooking demonstrations, roundtable discussions, more transportation options, and a 21+ After-Party. We even added music which included performances by the RedBone Singers, YaLonda Lolar Johnson, The Peace Life, The Sun Singers, Mistress Ginger and her band, Mary Bue, and DJ WAGZ. 

Festival food favorites included jackfruit nachos from Reverie, cheeze curds from Radical Eats and Herbivorous Butcher, pineapple smoothies from Jasmine Deli, and so many more delicious options from over 25 food vendors. These Wingz? even came all the way from Chicago, IL to sling their BBQ and buffalo seitan-based wings. These vendors showed that plant-based options can be fun, delicious, hand-held, and extremely satisfying.

This year’s festival was pulled together by a 24-person planning committee, supported by 160+ volunteers, and enjoyed by over 9,000 attendees. Wow!

To put that in perspective, 2017’s festival hosted 15 food vendors, 70 exhibitors total, had 150 volunteers, a 10-person planning committee, and entertained over 7,000 attendees. 

Whether you attended, presented, or volunteered at the event, thank you for making Sunday possible. Your participation in Twin Cities Veg Fest contributed to the momentum of the plant-based movement sweeping the country. Together, we moved the ball forward for the animals!

To see more photos from Sunday, check out our Instagram feed and stay tuned for more video and photos released from the festival. Have some of your own to share? Post on social media and #tcvegfest!

A couple of weeks ago, Compassionate Action for Animals announced that a new Communications Coordinator had been selected. Emily Nyberg began working with CAA yesterday, September 4th.

Emily initially connected with CAA at several of the events we run and attend around Minneapolis and St. Paul, including Twin Cities Veg Fest and Twin Cities Pride. What struck her about the conversations she had with volunteers at events was the approach CAA uses to help individuals reconsider the impact their consumption habits have on farmed animals, our communities, and the environment.

Emily comes with non-profit and for-profit marketing experience, having interned for a number of non-profits, including Minnesota Opera, Vintage Band Festival, and Sing for Joy, a radio station based in Northfield, MN. While at St. Olaf College, she worked on their Music Entertainment Committee (MEC), a student-run organization that produced music events for the student body. Emily held several positions during her four years on the committee, from Marketing Communications Officer to Committee Coordinator. During her time on the committee, she most enjoyed connecting with other student-led groups to produce unique events for students to experience.

She has spent the past two years on the marketing team at Parsons Electric, an electrical and technologies contractor, where she focused on video and graphics content creation for social media campaigns and sales. One of the video series she produced in 2017 was recognized by the Construction Marketing Association after a successful email outreach campaign, receiving their 2017 CMA STAR award for Video. While at Parsons, she also wrote, designed, and distributed a new internal newsletter that informed employees about what was going on companywide.

“Each organization I’ve worked with has encouraged me to expand professionally and gain new perspectives to approach the way I work to support their mission,” said Emily of her previous work experiences. “I look forward to moving back into non-profit work, being a full-time animal advocate with CAA, and getting more involved with the Twin Cities vegan community.”

Emily was drawn to apply for the Communications Coordinator position by CAA’s continued work towards educating the Twin Cities community about the farming industrial complex and making resources supporting a compassionate, plant-based diet accessible and sustainable for all. She believes it’s important to continue to talk about the animals and “why vegan?” even after committing to a vegan lifestyle in order to continue to strengthen and grow the community.

She is excited to support our community outreach events and potlucks and connect with more CAA volunteers. A large project she plans to start this year is the development of a communications plan for CAA that matches our mission and increases volunteer conversion.

When Emily is not working in support of the animals, you’re likely to find her in the kitchen veganizing different dishes with her boyfriend Hayden, singing, studying herbalism, exploring Minnesota with friends and family, or behind the counter at Healing Elements, a yoga and wellness studio in St. Paul.

We are excited to welcome Emily to the team. She will be at the 2018 Twin Cities Veg Fest and 21+ Veg Fest After Party on September 16. You can meet her there and join our celebration of the growing Twin Cities veg community!