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(League of Humane Voters of New York City is neither affiliated with nor funded by any other League of Humane Voters or organization)

John Phillips, Executive Director – A long-time animal advocate, John was named the first ever Executive Director of the League of Humane Voters of New York City (LOHV-NYC) in 2004. Under his leadership, LOHV-NYC has become a potent force for animals in New York City, raising tens of thousands of dollars and endorsing and campaigning for dozens of humane candidates at the city and state level. John's efforts have educated countless people about the suffering of animals. In January 2007, John received In Defense of Animals' Companion Animal Guard Award for his work with LOHV-NYC.

John's tenure has already been marked by several significant milestones.  Shortly after taking the helm, he helped to organize the city’s first ever humane lobby day, bringing dozens of animal advocates to City Hall to lobby their elected officials.  In January 2006, LOHV-NYC launched the first ever humane scorecard for the New York City Council. The scorecard was first published in Satya Magazine in 2006 and since then has received major media attention.

John started young – he went vegetarian when he was just 10 and turned vegan when he was 14.  Becoming vegan opened his eyes and ignited his passion for activism.  Since then, he has at one time or another been active with various social justice groups, including those dedicated to the rights of the LGBT community, the homeless and the environment.

Daniel Elstein, President - Daniel is pursuing a PhD in philosophy at Stanford University, while working for LOHV-NYC from a distance. He has published articles on the moral status of animals and other topics in ethics, and has been active with many different animal and environmental groups on a variety of issues over the years.

Lisa Virgona, Esq., Vice President - Lisa is an attorney in private practice. She was elected Vice President of the League of Humane Voters of New York City in 2007.

Maryanne Byington, Secretary/Treasurer – After growing up in Aruba, Maryanne went to College in upstate New York.  Despite the climate shock she received an undergraduate degree from Skidmore College then moved to New York City.  For many years she worked for the National Audubon Society and the Population Council, then took a giant swerve and became a full-time professional ballroom dancer. Somewhere during those years she also received an M.A. from Columbia Teachers College.  During all her career moves, she supported a large variety of animal rights, animal protection and animal welfare organizations by writing checks, but not through personal activism.  She was one of the many who felt, “I’ll send you money, just don’t make me look at the photographs.”  It was not until learning about the League at a meeting that she decided to become more personally involved.  Her long held interest in progressive politics made a perfect fit.  Maryanne is a long-time resident of Alphabet City where she lives with her four rescued feline companions: Rusty, Peco, Gingersnap and Butterscotch.

Meena Alagappan, Esq., Advisory Board Member – Meena is the Executive Director of HEART (Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to implementing humane education into the New York State curriculum. Prior to joining HEART, Meena was a humane education consultant for Animal Welfare Trust, a private operating foundation, where she worked on developing a humane and character education pilot program to be implemented by HEART. She has also been a senior instructor for Advantage Testing, Inc., an academic test preparation company, since 1993.

Meena is the Chair of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Committee on Legal Issues Pertaining to Animals and is Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association’s newly formed animal law committee in the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice section. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City’s Animals.

Josephine Bellaccomo, Advisory Board Member – Josephine is a communications specialist with a master's degree from New York University. She has been a communications coach and consultant for over ten years and lives in New York City.

Lawrence Carter-Long, Advisory Board Member – Lawrence has over three decades of experience as a communicator, advocate and social justice campaigner.  At age five Lawrence was the 'poster child' for the local United Way fundraising campaign.

An avid media observer and film buff, Lawrence is the Network Coordinator for the DISABILITIES NETWORK OF NYC. He is a regular columnist/blogger on disability issues large and small for RAGGED EDGE ONLINE, and a Contributing Editor for SATYA MAGAZINE, a monthly publication committed to increasing dialogue among people from diverse backgrounds and helping readers integrate compassion into their daily lives. He's also a producer on WBAI's LARGEST MINORITY radio show, where he reports on disability arts, culture and community.

Catherine Clyne, Advisory Board Member – Catherine is the Editor-in-Chief of SATYA magazine and has been a writer and ethical vegan half her life.  Prior to joining Satya in 1999, Cat worked in the music industry and the nonprofit sector for over a decade.  She holds a Master's degree in religious studies from New York University.  Through the monthly publication of SATYA, Cat seeks to develop common ground among activists, deepen understanding about issues of compassion and nonviolence, and challenge readers to examine different points of view.

Julie Lewin, Advisory Board Member – Julie is Founder and Political Trainer of NIFAA: The National Institute for Animal Advocacy and is a frequent panelist at national events. NIFAA fills a critical void in animal advocacy by training rights and rescue advocates and charities to launch voting blocs for animals in their states, counties, cities and towns.  Her "Become Political for Animals and Win the Laws of Their Dreams," a book-length political training manual, will be published in late 2006. Julie lobbied for The Fund for Animals while its Connecticut Coordinator, left the Fund to launch Animal Advocacy Connecticut, a political organization, and was a daily feral and homeless cat rescuer in Hartford's inner city. The University of Massachusetts has received her papers to establish a Julie E. Lewin archive on animal rights. Prior to turning to animals, Julie was a nationally published free-lance journalist, a reporter for a daily newspaper, executive assistant to the commissioner of a state agency, and a legislative researcher.  In addition to running NIFAA, she is a political campaign consultant.

Mary Max, Advisory Board Member – As a full-time activist in New York City, Mary has enlightened many to the horrors of animal cruelty. In addition to maintaining a biweekly e-mail-alert-newsletter, Mary continues to try to secure the rights of New York City residents to live with companion animals and is working hard at implementing a state resolution that calls for healthy plant-based meals to be offered in all NYS schools. Mary is an active board member of The Humane Society of the U.S., The New York Coalition for Healthy School Lunches, Humane USA-PAC, and Tribe of Heart. She is the proud parent of seven rescued kitties and one rescued dog and the proud wife of artist, Peter Max.

Dirk McCall, Advisory Board Member, Dirk, the President of the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC, is a transplanted Southerner living in NYC for over 15 years. Raised in a military family, Dirk grew up on Army bases throughout the South, though his family hails from Central Tennessee and North Georgia. A 12 year resident of Astoria, in Western Queens, Dirk was one of the Grand Marshalls for the 2005 Queens Pride Parade. An active member of the Powhattan Democratic Club and Astoria Kiwanis, Dirk is also active with Trinity Lutheran Church of Astoria and Lutherans Concerned, North America, which seeks to make progress within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Dirk founded and lead the LGBT Caucus of New York State Young Democrats and remains an active supporter of YDA.

Professionally, Dirk serves as the Director of External Affairs for QSAC (Quality Services for the Autism Community), the largest autism services agency in NYC. Dirk works to promote awareness of autism and advocates for increased funding for the vital services needed by people with autism. Previously Dirk served for four years as the Chief of Staff to NYC Council Member Alan Jay Gerson (District 1 – Lower Manhattan, including Ground Zero). Dirk was one of the leaders in the fight to secure an additional 1.3 million for services for homeless LGBT Youth from the New York City Council, served as the point person inside the Council for DASA (Dignity in All Schools Act), which was introduced by his boss, Council Member Gerson, and helped spearhead the passage of a resolution calling for the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy.

Dirk has worked as a lobbyist for two firms, Capalino + Company and KZA (Kathy Zamechansky and Associates), where he worked in the areas of nightlife, real estate development and health care, and where he honed his political fundraising skills. He also worked for three years as the LGBT liaison and Community Affairs staff for Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields.

Carol Moon, M.Ed., Advisory Board Member – Carol works as a humane educator in the New York City area, representing Farm Sanctuary, a nationwide animal advocacy group.  She is the author of Cultivating Compassion: Teachers’ Guide and Student Activities, a complete program of materials which can be used to introduce farmed animal issues into the classroom.  In addition to presenting programs for students from elementary school through high school and college, she gives workshops at teachers’ conferences and offers lectures for adults.  She holds a Master of Education from Cambridge College in Boston, through the International Institute for Humane Education.

Carol originally moved to New York City to pursue a career in opera or musical theater, having already completed a Master of Performing Arts in Opera degree from Oklahoma City University.  Gradually, her dedication to animal rights assumed prominence in her life and she hopes to change the world through humane education.

Anne Muller, Advisory Board Member – Anne is President of Wildlife Watch Inc.  Wildlife Watch is a wildlife protection organization that itself focuses on environmental impacts on wildlife and wildlife’s impacts on the environment, in addition to the spiritual enrichment provided by wild animals.  Wildlife Watch encompasses the Coalition to Prevent the Destruction of Canada Geese and C.A.S.H. - Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting.  The Coalition concerns itself with the plight and majesty of Canada geese, providing information and support to people who are trying to help Canada geese.  The Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting exposes the mismanagement of wildlife by government agencies and its close ties to the weapons industry.  Anne Muller is editor of the Wildlife Watch Binocular and the C.A.S.H. Courier, distributed nationally to members.

Martin Rowe, Advisory Board Member – Martin was educated at Oxford University, where he was awarded a scholarship and took a first class honors degree in English Literature and Language at Mansfield College. He came to the United States in 1991 and completed a master's degree in Religious Studies at New York University.

In 1994, Rowe founded the monthly magazine Satya, with Beth Gould, and was its editor for five and a half years. In 1999, Rowe published The Way of Compassion: Vegetarianism, Environmentalism, Animal Advocacy, and Social Justice, which collected some of the best articles and interviews on vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal advocacy, and social justice, gathered from the first fifty issues of Satya. In 2003, he published his novel Nicaea: A Book of Correspondences with Lindisfarne Books.

In 1999, he co-founded Booklight Inc., a company that develops and maintains Web sites, and Lantern Books, a publisher of books on vegetarianism, animal advocacy, spirituality, and natural healing.
 

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