Matt Rice works as Mercy For Animals' New York Campaign Coordinator, organizing events and campaigns, and coordinating volunteers throughout New York City and the state. Matt is a former United States Marine and holds a Bachelors of Arts in Biology and Anthropology from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

For as long as he can remember Matt has had an affinity for animals and was opposed to more obvious forms of cruelty, but never really considered the plights of farmed animals until he saw the documentary Meet Your Meat. After witnessing the needless suffering endured by cows, pigs, chickens and other farmed animals, he decided to adopt a vegan lifestyle and become a committed animal advocate.

Matt now has more than six years of experience in the animal protection movement managing successful international corporate campaigns, developing educational materials and websites, and coordinating public outreach and fundraising events. In addition to helping consumers make more informed decisions, his efforts have convinced several leading clothing retailers and fashion designers to switch to animal-friendly fabrics and have helped garner international media attention about animals who are killed for their fur, leather or wool.

Coordinating cutting-edge and thought-provoking demonstrations in cities around the world, Matt has conducted interviews with local, national and international media outlets reaching millions of people on a wide range of animal rights issues. Matt has traveled the country to expose people to the abuses that elephants and other captive animals endure at the hands of Ringling Bros. Circus and he has spoken out against cruel animal tests at universities and in corporate laboratories.

Matt is no stranger to New York where he has lead dozens of demonstrations aimed at everything from raising awareness about the cruelty of the horse carriage industry to encouraging the NFL to sack Michael Vick after he was found guilty of dog fighting. One of his favorite experiences of all time was the week he spent promoting healthy and humane vegan eating at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.

From volunteering at a local animal shelter, delivering dog houses to needy neighborhoods, staffing outreach tables at Earth Day events to distributing leaflets in Union Square, Matt is tirelessly dedicated to helping animals. He has given presentations on effective animal advocacy, humane education and other topics at colleges, high schools, public libraries and other forums and has helped recruit, manage and train volunteers, interns and staff for some of the nation's leading animal protection organizations.

Because the majority of cruelty to animals occurs at the hands of the meat, dairy and egg industries, Matt prefers to spend most of his time advocating on behalf of animals who are raised for food. He feels privileged to have had the opportunity to spend a couple years working with the rescued animals at a farmed animal sanctuary. He believes that when people get the chance to see eye to eye with a cow, scratch a chicken's back or rub a pig's belly, something clicks and they understand that these animals are just as worthy of protection from needless cruelty as our beloved dogs and cats at home.