For ten years, I led CLUE, the premiere faith-based clergy-led justice organization in Los Angeles. We put the power of the moral authority found in thousand year-old traditions to work for the poor, low income, and otherwise disenfranchised people that form the foundation of our society. All people should be able to feed their children, house their families, and have hope for their futures. At the root of economic justice is ensuring that everyone can live to their fullest potential, to make sure everyone has enough and that everyone knows what ‘enough’ is. Whether through Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice or through my current work as Founder/President/Executive Director of Faith Action for All: All Peoples, All Animals, Our Whole Planet, I am committed to the working poor, the disenfranchised, the marginalized…the inherent worth and dignity of every being as an honest player in creating a more Just and Sacred Society.
In 2010, I made the ethical decision to become a committed vegan and animal rights advocate. With billions of animals unnecessarily killed for food in the horrific conditions of factory farms and turned into clothing each year, I have come to believe that God would never condone our extreme manipulation of nature that has led to so many sentient beings experiencing Tsa’ar Ba’alei Chayim, animal suffering. Once I resolved to become vegan—a process that took about two years of intentional shift away from vegetarianism—I recognized that my work at CLUE taught me a Theory of Change that could be applied to animals, and I endeavored to incorporate my own nonprofit, Faith Action for Animals. Faith Action for Animals is “a coalition of faith leaders and activists who advocate and take action on behalf of animals who are exploited, abused, tortured and slaughtered for food, research, fashion and entertainment,utilizing religious language for animal and vegan advocacy” (mission statement). In 2022, Faith Action for Animals became Faith Action for All, recognizing that religious leaders must embrace concern for human animals as well as non-human ones, and for the planet which all of us share.