Nandita Bajaj, MEd

Nandita Bajaj is Executive Director of Population Balance, a nonprofit that works to inspire narrative, behavioral, and systemic changes that elevate the rights and wellbeing of people, animals, and the planet. She is the producer and host of two podcasts: OVERSHOOT and Beyond Pronatalism. She is also a senior lecturer at the Institute for Humane Education at Antioch University. Her research and advocacy work focus on reproductive, ecological, and intergenerational justice. She has delivered over 100 presentations globally and authored numerous academic papers, book chapters, and articles in major media outlets.

Himani Bhakuni, PhD, LLB, LLM

Dr. Himani Bhakuni is a lecturer at the University of York (UK), specializing in Global Health Ethics and Law. Her research is interdisciplinary, focusing on human rights, bioethics, and health law. Prior to her academic career, Dr. Bhakuni worked as a litigator and judicial clerk in India. Her legal background alongside her ongoing work with various international organizations brings a practical perspective to her scholarly work. She is also the co-editor of Justice in Global Health: New Perspectives and Current Issues.

Hope Ferdowsian, MD, MPH, FACP, FACPM

Dr. Hope Ferdowsian is a double board-certified internal medicine, preventive medicine, and public health physician with ethics expertise. Her global work focuses on the intersection of human, animal, and planetary rights, health, and wellbeing, and her published works center on the importance of universal principles. She served as faculty at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and Georgetown University School of Medicine, and she is now a professor of medicine at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

Jim Mason, JD

Jim Mason is an author and attorney. His book, An Unnatural Order: The Roots of Our Destruction of Nature, shows how the adverse treatment of animals has contributed to human atrocities and various forms of discrimination. His books, including The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter and Animal Factories, document in depth how factory farming harms animals, the environment, and people. His writings have appeared in Audubon, the New York Times, New Scientist, Newsday, Country Journal, Orion, and Nature Quarterly.

Nina Jamal

Nina Jamal is Navigator (senior head) of Global Affairs and Deputy Director of Lobbying & Advocacy at FOUR PAWS International. Before taking on that role and since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nina led advocacy efforts supporting UN member states in anchoring actionable provisions on prevention and One Health in collaboration with a broad coalition of experts and organizations. Nina also worked on climate campaigns and international policy within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations, and she has worked within the private sector on sustainability and the implementation of international multilateral environmental agreements.

Debra Merskin, PhD

Dr. Debra Merskin is Professor Emerit of Media Studies at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication. She holds a PhD in Mass Communication from the SI Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University and a degree in Depth and Ecological Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Dr. Merskin’s research centers on media representations of marginalized groups, including both humans and nonhuman animals. She investigates how media portrayals reinforce stereotypes and exclusion.

Altamush Saeed, LLM (Human Rights), LLM (Animal Law), LLM (Environmental Law)

Altamush Saeed is an award-winning lawyer, teacher, and filmmaker. He holds four advanced law degrees, including an Animal Law LLM and Environmental Law LLM from Lewis & Clark Law School. Altamush lectures on Animal, Environmental, and Human Rights Law and teaches Pakistan’s first law courses on interspecies justice. He is the founding managing partner at Environmental and Animal Rights Consultants and co-founder of Charity Doings Foundation.

Andrea Weckerle, JD, MA

Andrea Weckerle is a communications and management professional with a law background. She is the host of the Ready Living Podcast and author of the book Civility in the Digital Age: How Companies and People Can Triumph over Haters, Trolls, Bullies, and Other Jerks. Her past experience includes founding and leading a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing online harassment, character assassination, misinformation, and violence, and helping to design, develop, and implement alternative dispute resolution systems for Fortune 500 companies while working at an international professional services firm. She holds a JD and MA (MAIS) focused on Public Relations and Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

Saskia Stucki, Dr iur

Dr. Saskia Stucki is the founder and director of the Centre for Animal Rights & the Environment (CARE) at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, where she is also a senior lecturer in public law. Previously, she held fellowships at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law and the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program. Her research interests include animal law, animal rights theory, One Health, food governance, and environmental law. Her recent or forthcoming books include One Rights: Human and Animal Rights in the Anthropocene and the Oxford Handbook of Global Animal Law.

Claudia Hirtenfelder, PhD

Dr. Claudia Towne Hirtenfelder has a PhD in geography from Queen’s University Canada, and her interests sit at the intersection of history, geography, urban studies, animal studies, and power relations. Claudia is also the founder and host of The Animal Turn and Animal Highlight podcasts. She has an MSc in the Social Studies of Gender from Lund University in Sweden, as well as a BA in Political Science and Journalism from the University of Johannesburg. She is currently an external lecturer in Change Management at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and the inaugural fellow with the Institute for Universal Rights, Health & Justice.

Maggie Topalian, MS

Maggie Topalian is the clerk for the Institute for Universal Rights, Health & Justice along with the National Commission on Research Ethics. She earned her MS in Conservation Medicine from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in 2024, where she focused her research on post-traumatic stress disorder and the One Health harms caused by animal farming. A lifelong animal and nature lover, Maggie has worked and volunteered at several accredited animal sanctuaries and environmental organizations. Her family’s history of experiencing internment and genocide has also deepened her interest in human rights issues.