Staff

Laura came to us from the for-profit world, but has always been passionate about animal issues.  She went vegetarian before she could legally drive, and volunteered her summers at local nursing homes helping with their pet therapy programs.

Laura will be attending Eastern Michigan Univeristy next year to finish her degree in Public Relations.

Kim W. Stallwood has held leadership positions in animal rights organizations for more than three decades. He was executive editor of the highly regarded Animals’ Agenda magazine. In 2002 he founded the Institute for Animals and Society, an animal rights public policy institute and joined with Ken Shapiro to form the Animals and Society Institute. Stallwood is editor of two anthologies of articles from The Animals’ Agenda (Speaking Out for Animals and An Animal Rights Primer both published by Lantern); authored a chapter, “Utopian Visions and Pragmatic Politics: Challenging the Foundations of Speciesism and Misothery,” in Animal Rights: the Changing Debate, edited by Robert Garner (Macmillan, 1996); and a chapter, “The Animal Rights Movement Must Be Politically Pragmatic,” in Animal Rights Opposing Viewpoints edited by Andrew Harnack (Greenhaven Press, 1996). Stallwood now lives in the UK where he serves as the ASI’s European Director. His blog is www.grumpyvegan.com.

Margo DeMello has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and currently lectures at Central New Mexico Community College, teaching sociology, cultural studies, and anthropology. She also is the Executive Director of House Rabbit Society, an international rabbit rescue and education organization.

Her books include Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community (2000), Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural and Cultural History of a Misunderstood Creature (2003), Low-Carb Vegetarian (2004), Why Animals Matter: The Case for Animal Protection (2007), and The Encyclopedia of Body Adornment (2007). Her newest books, to be released in 2009, will be A Cultural Encyclopedia of Feet and Footwear and the edited collection, Teaching the Animal: Human Animal Studies Across the Disciplines.

Beatrice M. Friedlander is the Managing Director of the Animals and Society Institute at its Ann Arbor office, and previously served on the organization’s Board of Directors. She is a founding and current member of the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan, and of Michigan Attorneys for Animals. She serves on the Legislative Committee of the Animal Law Section and was active in the multi-year and successful effort to overturn a law allowing mourning dove hunting in Michigan. Ms. Friedlander is a member of the Committee on Legal Issues Pertaining to Animals of the Association of the New York City Bar. She serves on the board of Jazzpurr Society for Animal Protection, Windsor, Ontario; and is a hands-on volunteer at Mosaic Feline Refuge in Ann Arbor and at SASHA Farm, a sanctuary in Manchester, MI, where she can be found periodically (and happily) scooping litter and mucking stalls. Bee received J.D. and B.A. (Sociology) degrees from The Ohio State University, and a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Non Profit Sector Studies from Wayne State University. She is a member of the Michigan and New York State bars, and describes herself as a “recovering attorney.” She and her husband share their home with cats Mica, Ginger and Blanco.