Part I: Joshua Katcher, The Discerning Brute
Joshua Katcher is an adjunct professor at Parsons The New School for Design and has taught Sustainable Fashion at the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising. He is currently writing his first book, Fashion & Animals, and has lectured on that topic at Princeton, The American University of Paris, Parsons, Brown, UPenn, and FIT among others. Katcher started the men’s ethical lifestyle website, The Discerning Brute in 2008 and launched the Brave GentleMan label and eCommerce platform in 2010.
 

Part II: Hallie Rich, alternaVites
Hallie Rich is the founder & CEO of alternaVite the first quick-dissolving multivitamin for adults who can’t swallow pills. After the success of alternaVites for adults, Hallie launched alternaVites Kids, the all-natural alternative to sugary gummy vitamins that stick to kids teeth (Pediatric dentists highly recommend alternaVites). Recently, Hallie lobbied on Capitol Hill with the Natural Products Association – she can speak on that experience. She has a new book coming out in 2016 called, “Should I Scoop Out My Bagel?” – Gives no holds-barred answers to the questions that keep every modern woman wondering why her weight is high, her libido is low, and her mind is scattered.

Part I: Jody Rasch, Vegfund
Jody Rasch is a consultant in the areas of social investing and microfinance. Prior to this he headed the Social Performance Group at Moody’s Corporation working on projects including microfinance and social investing. He developed the Moody’s Social Performance Assessment (SPA) which provides a gap analysis of practices for microfinance institutions. He also served on various advisory boards including Women’s World Banking’s Gender Performance Initiative, the SMART Campaign’s Certification Task Force, Grameen Foundation’s Social Performance Advisory Committee and the Global Impact Investing Rating Service (GIIRS). Mr. Rasch has presented on social and financial issues at conferences worldwide, including Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia and the United States. Prior to joining Moody’s in 2002 Mr. Rasch owned, for 15 years, a training company that conducted financial training programs for international commercial and investment banks. He also headed the New York derivatives sales desk of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and has worked in the corporate treasury departments of two Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Rasch has a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and holds an MBA in Finance from New York University.

Mr. Rasch is on the Board of Directors of two not for profit organizations. Battery Dance Company, which conducts cultural diplomacy in over 60 countries and the United States through its “Dancing to Connect” program; and VegFund which supports grass roots activists in promoting a vegan lifestyle. Mr. Rasch is also a painter (www.raschart.com) and is completing his first novel, “The Day After Yesterday”, which has an animal rights theme.
 
Part II: Jane Velez-Mitchell, Jane Unchained
Jane Velez-Mitchell is the editor of JaneUnChained.com, a multi-platform social media news outlet that reports on crimes against people, animals and the environment. Her reporting on animal issues has won four Genesis Awards from the Humane Society of the United States.Velez-Mitchell is often seen commenting on high-profile cases for national TV shows. For six years she hosted her own show on CNN Headline News. Velez-Mitchell also reported for the nationally syndicated Warner Brothers/Telepictures show Celebrity Justice, and was a news anchor for many stations including KCAL-LA and WCBS-NY. She is the author of four books. The 2014 non-fiction New York Times bestseller, “Exposed: The Secret Life of Jodi Arias” details a gruesome, twisted crime and the salacious trial that gripped the American public. “Secrets Can Be Murder: The Killer Next Door” delves into the secrets unearthed in more than twenty of the most widely covered murder cases of recent times and the secrecy and deceit embedded in these tragic scenarios. “Addict Nation: An Intervention for America” with Sandra Mohr focuses on greed and consumption. Her other New York Times bestseller is her memoir titled “iWant: My Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler, Honest Life.” She is active in the LGBT community, an animal activist and a vegan and lives with her partner, Donna Dennison, and their companion animals in Manhattan.

Lorelei Wakefield, Vegetarian Diets for Companion Animals
Lorelei Wakefield, VMD, is a vegan veterinarian and founder of Veterinary Concierge Care which provides private VIP home care for NYC’s beloved dogs and cats. She also runs Wakefield Vet, a consultation service for non-profit groups as well as individual animal caregivers needing advice outside New York City. She is an expert in vegan dog and cat nutrition, as seen on Animal Planet, in Cat Fancy magazine and the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Dr. Wakefield works regularly with the ASPCA and volunteers to advocate for farm animal rights.