Meet MFA

Nathan Runkle
Executive Director
NathanR@MercyForAnimals.org

Nathan Runkle is the Founder and Executive Director of Mercy For Animals. Raised on a farm in rural Ohio, Nathan has long had a deep connection with farmed animals and agriculture. After a local farmed animal abuse case, involving a piglet slammed head first into a concrete floor during an agriculture project at a nearby high school, Nathan founded Mercy For Animals to give “food” animals a much needed advocate in his local community.

Since founding Mercy For Animals a decade ago, Nathan has overseen the organization's growth into a leading national force for the respectful and compassionate treatment of farmed animals. A grassroots organizer and coordinator for many years, Nathan has spearheaded hundreds of demonstrations and outreach events across the country – ranging from protests outside pork and egg producer conventions to parade marches, educational exhibits, and more.

A nationally recognized speaker on animal advocacy, grassroots activism, and factory farming, Nathan has spoken at colleges, forums, and conferences from coast-to-coast.

>> Read more about Nathan

Derek Coons
Director of Information Technology
DerekC@MercyForAnimals.org

Derek Coons serves as Mercy For Animals' Director of Information Technology and is a long-time board member, overseeing the direction, focus, effectiveness, and efficiency of the organization.

A graduate of Miami University with a degree in Computer Science and Systems Analysis, Derek actively combines his passions for animals and technology – developing and implementing all of MFA's websites, database systems, web advertising programs, and email communications. Under his direction, MFA's ChooseVeg.com website has become widely recognized as one of the web's most helpful and compelling pro-vegetarian websites, attracting over 2 million visitors annually.

Derek's journey into animal activism began as a teenager while working in the kitchen of a local Red Lobster restaurant. After witnessing lobsters steamed alive and stabbed with knives, Derek pledged never to eat lobster again. Derek quickly began to question the manner in which pigs, chickens, and cows were treated during meat production. Such questioning quickly led Derek toward vegetarianism after he acknowledged that he could not ethically justify causing animals to suffer and die simply for a palate preference.

>> Read more about Derek

Arathi Jayaram
Director of Operations
ArathiJ@MercyForAnimals.org

Arathi Jayaram serves as Mercy For Animals' Director of Operations – working closely with the organization's grassroots coordinators to create, implement and evaluate local, state and national campaigns that promote veganism and the protection of farmed animals.

Additionally, Arathi oversees MFA's membership development programs – communicating with supporters nationwide, coordinating special fundraising events, donation appeals and grant requests.

Arathi has been an outspoken advocate for farmed animal protection for over two decades – working to pass vital legislation in various states, to expand and promote vegan-friendly businesses, and pressure the nation's largest fast food restaurants to adopt their first-ever animal welfare standards.

>> Read more about Arathi

Daniel Hauff
Director of Investigations
DanielH@MercyForAnimals.org

Daniel Hauff serves as Mercy For Animals' Director of Investigations. Daniel earned his Bachelor in International Studies with a concentration in Human Rights and Social Justice from DePaul University. It was this passion for justice and compassion that eventually led Daniel toward advocacy efforts on behalf of abused and neglected animals.

Through his work with various local, national, and international animal protection organizations, Daniel has drafted a plethora of animal cruelty complaints on a broad range of issues, engaging law enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels.

Daniel works closely with attorneys, veterinarians and animal welfare experts to compile farmed animal cruelty cases, which have pressed for cruelty prosecutions, strengthened animal protection laws, and encouraged corporate policy changes.

>> Read more about Daniel

Brooke Mays
Director of Communications
BrookeM@MercyForAnimals.org

Brooke Mays serves as Mercy For Animals' Director of Communications, overseeing all of the organization's written materials, including content for Compassionate Living magazine, grant requests to foundations, letters to the editors of newspapers, and communications with the media, corporations and general public.

An artful master of the English language, Brooke earned a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics at University of Michigan in 1999 and a certificate for teaching English as a foreign language from the University of Cambridge that same year.

Along with her communications experience, she has tremendous passion for animal advocacy. For the past decade, Brooke has devoted great time and energy to companion animal protection, including direct care of shelter animals, adoptions and even adopting Maggie, a special-needs dog of her own. In more recent years, in addition to companion animals, Brooke has worked hands-on with farmed animals, volunteering at a number of local and national animal sanctuaries.

>> Read more about Brooke

Lee Iovino
Director of Visual Media Production
LeeI@MercyForAnimals.org

Lee Iovino serves as Mercy For Animals' Director of Visual Media Production, where he oversees the creative development of the organization’s documentaries, event reviews, advertisements, and other media-related projects.

A driving force behind MFA’s powerful use of visual media to advocate on behalf of animals, Lee orchestrates film shots, voiceover recordings, music production, and audio and visual set-up at special events.

It was his fascination for the art of storytelling through cinema and motion graphics that first propelled Lee into video production at the age of twelve in Mesa, Arizona.

Incorporating creative inspiration from diverse genres of movies, music, and advertising, Lee has put his vision and passion to use, crafting cutting-edge and award-winning short films, advertisements, music videos, and visual art – many with thought-provoking and political messages.

>> Read more about Lee

Matt Rice
New York Campaign Coordinator
MattR@MercyForAnimals.org

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.

>> Read more about Matt

Corey Roscoe
Ohio Campaign Coordinator
CoreyR@MercyForAnimals.org

Corey Roscoe serves as Mercy For Animals' Ohio Campaign Coordinator, organizing events and campaigns, and coordinating volunteers throughout Ohio.

Corey has worked for ten years in the nonprofit sector on behalf of animals. Holding a Masters of Arts in Education from Cleveland State University, Corey actively combines her passion for animals and education. She has extensively given humane education presentations, teaching children and adults how to think critically about their actions as they relate to animals.

She has also facilitated outreach events and trainings, coordinated volunteers, appeared on local television and radio, and managed web sites and social networks.

>> Read more about Corey

Eddie Garza
Texas Campaign Coordinator
EddieG@MercyForAnimals.org

Eddie Garza serves as Mercy For Animals' Texas Campaign Coordinator, organizing events, overseeing campaigns, and coordinating volunteers throughout the lone star state.

A first generation Hispanic-American born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, and a proud Dallas resident since 1995, Eddie is "committed to driving a new breed of animal advocacy in the land of beef, beef and more beef."

A die-hard vegan foodie, who holds a special appreciation for well-crafted southern comfort foods such as country fried "steak," "meatloaf," and brownie sundaes, Eddie is the much-loved founder of DallasVegan.com, a blog dedicated to exploring the many joys of vegan dining in Dallas. Eddie's passion for compassionate cuisine has landed him advice columns and profile stories in major Texas media outlets, including the Dallas Morning News, Pegasus News, Dallas Voice, Dallas Observer, and NBC.

>> Read more about Eddie

Mikael Nielsen
Chicago Outreach Coordinator
MikaelN@MercyForAnimals.org

Mikael Nielsen serves as Mercy For Animals' Chicago Outreach Coordinator, where he oversees, coordinates, and attends dozens of grassroots outreach events annually, including vegetarian leafleting, educational exhibits, and more.

Watching friendly turkeys on TV that were about to be killed and eaten for Thanksgiving is what brought animal protection ideals to the forefront for Mikael. That was more than 12 years ago and Mikael has been a staunch advocate for the animals ever since.

Inspired by one of EarthSave Chicago's Conferences for Conscious Living, Mikael became involved with the group, coordinating outreach events, conferences, helping with Fur Free Friday events and the Compassion on Wheels TV van.

>> Read more about Mikael

Darina Smith
Chicago Outreach Coordinator
DarinaS@MercyForAnimals.org

Darina Smith serves as Mercy For Animals' Chicago Outreach Coordinator, where she relentlessly organizes feed-ins, leafleting and tabling events, and demonstrations. She also leads MFA’s Restaurant Outreach program, meeting with restaurateurs to expand their vegan menu offerings. Darina is a finance professional with 8 years of leadership and operations experience, holding an MBA from University of Illinois at Chicago. She is fluent in multiple languages.

Originally from Slovakia, Darina was involved in many forms of activism from a very young age. At 21, after finishing her bachelor studies, she moved to the United States to pursue a business career. In 2008, inspired by MFA’s “How much cruelty can you swallow?” bus ad, Darina became active in farmed animal advocacy with MFA.

Alongside her career with a Fortune 500 company, Darina spends a great deal of her free time organizing creative group outreach events, as well as leafleting high schools, colleges, concerts and festivals. Via campus leafleting alone, in 2009 she individually reached roughly 10,000 students on 19 school campuses in 8 states. Through the Restaurant Outreach program, Darina reaches out to restaurants and food stores to create more vegan-friendly menus. As a recent result, Chicago’s “Baba’s Village” restaurant added a new and very successful vegan menu to its offerings, complete with entrées and soy milk shakes.

>> Read more about Darina

Alexis Scherba
Chicago Outreach Coordinator
AlexisS@MercyForAnimals.org

Alexis Scherba serves as a Mercy For Animals' Chicago Outreach Coordinator. Since early summer 2009, she has coordinated feed-ins, protests and leafleting events, spoken at outreach events, exhibited at festivals, organized volunteer trips to farmed animal sanctuaries, and promoted vegetarian dining through MFA's Restaurant Outreach Campaign.

It was a communications class assignment on factory farming that inspired Alexis, a college freshman at the time, to go vegan. This transition to a compassionate, plant-based diet sparked her efforts to create the Loyola University Chicago's Vegetarian & Vegan Society. As president of the Society for two and a half years, Alexis worked tirelessly on animal advocacy and vegetarian outreach activities, such as leafleting, tabling, planning banquets with guest speakers, volunteering with rescued animals at PAWS Chicago, organizing vegan cooking classes, and working with her college dining halls to add vegan options.

Alexis was honored for her dedication to protecting animals with the "Youth Activist of the Year" award at the 2009 Chicago Celebrating Compassion Gala. She is pursuing a post-bachelor's certificate in pre-veterinary medicine and plans to attend veterinary school.

Whether organizing an event, promoting animal advocacy on the streets, or working hands-on with animals, Alexis keeps a positive and friendly attitude in her efforts to support veganism and animal protection.

>> Read more about Alexis

Leslie Patterson
Chicago Leafleting Coordinator
LeslieP@MercyForAnimals.org

Leslie Patterson serves as Mercy For Animals' Chicago Leafleting Coordinator, where she has been organizing outreach events around the city and at local colleges since 2007. Leslie also uses time off from her full-time job as a public librarian to leaflet at colleges across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio, and has reached over 50,000 students as part of Vegan Outreach's Adopt-a-College program.

A native of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, she became vegetarian after growing up in a liberal family with many beloved companion animals. She went vegan and committed her life to animal rights after attending a Mercy For Animals screening of Peaceable Kingdom in January of 2007. Leslie began volunteering for Mercy For Animals because of our focus on farmed animals and public outreach, as she reasoned that by promoting plant-based diets activists can help spare the largest number of animals from some of the worst abuse, and change how animals are viewed in our society.

>> Read more about Leslie

Jessica Buck
Dallas Outreach Coordinator
Jessica.Buck@MercyForAnimals.org

Jessica Buck serves as Mercy For Animals' Dallas Outreach Coordinator, overseeing and coordinating educational exhibits and grassroots outreach events in the greater Dallas area.

It was after reading about the cruelties of factory farms and slaughterhouses that Jessica adopted a vegan diet. “Animals are sentient beings who have the right to be free and live a natural, healthy life,” she says. “They feel pain, fear and suffering, just as we do.”

A graduate of the University of North Texas with a degree in psychology, Jessica uses her interpersonal communication and team-building skills to mobilize animal advocates and inspire others to adopt a cruelty-free lifestyle.

Through numerous vegetarian leafleting, tabling, and feed-in events, Jessica and her crew have reached out to thousands of people, ultimately sparing the lives of countless animals.

Jessica shares a loft in the heart of Dallas with her Chihuahua-Maltese mix, Dolce.

>> Read more about Jessica

Jonathan Hussain
Chicago Humane Educator
JonathanH@MercyForAnimals.org

Jonathan Hussain serves as Mercy For Animals' Humane Educator for the greater Chicago area. In that capacity, he's lectured on the treatment of animals in factory farms, the philosophy of animal rights and the environmental impact of animal agriculture. He develops, schedules and delivers presentations to Chicagoland high schools, colleges and universities.

Jonathan shares MFA's message of compassion with a special commitment to educate and empower students. He shares personal experience and practical advice with individual students and offers both resources and administrative support to student groups. He has spoken to classrooms or student groups at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, Indiana University Northwest, Lewis University and the College of DuPage, among others.

As a graduate student, Jonathan was swayed by the rigorous philosophy of animal liberation. After a lifetime of indifference, his heart was opened to the plight of non-humans by the arguments of Peter Singer, James Rachels and Steve Sapontzis. But it was an MFA workshop that persuaded Jonathan to take more active steps to protect farmed animals. He's been a committed volunteer and activist ever since.

Jonathan divides his time between Chicago and Northern California. He holds a B.S. in Public Policy, Management and Planning from the University of Southern California and an M.A. in Social Science from the University of Chicago.

>> Read more about Jonathan

Heather Gillen
Toledo Ohio Campaign Coordinator
HeatherG@MercyForAnimals.org

Heather Gillen serves as Mercy For Animals' Toledo Campaign Coordinator, where she works with local supporters to organize and carry out lectures, educational video screenings, and benefit dinners, as well as pro-vegetarian leafleting at area college campuses.

Holding a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Bowling Green State University, with experience in outpatient nutrition counseling, community nutrition, and diabetes, Heather has put her education as a Registered Dietitian to good use promoting a healthy and humane vegan diet.

Heather first considered the plight of farmed animals after stumbling upon an educational exhibit at a campus fair by an animal protection organization. After learning of the inherent cruelty in battery-cage egg production – where up to seven hens are crammed into file-drawer sized cages for their entire lives – Heather began to question the ethics of her food choices. Always conscious of dietary requirements, it was after reading the American Dietetic Association's position paper on vegansim - which states that well planned vegan diets are healthy for any stage of life, whether old or young, infant, pregnant, or lactating – that Heather adopted a plant-based diet.

>> Read more about Heather

Kayla Worden
Asheville North Carolina Campaign Coordinator
KaylaW@MercyForAnimals.org

Kayla Worden serves as Mercy For Animals' Asheville North Carolina Campaign Coordinator - organizing local events, campaigns and coordinating volunteers.

Having grown up on a small farm in northwest Pennsylvania, Kayla befriended many of the farmed animals around her. It was during this time she formed a great sense of compassion for animals. This inspired her to move toward vegetarianism at the age of twelve.

In 1988, Kayla moved to Asheville and a year later became a vegan after receiving information in the mail about cruelty to animals on factory farms and in slaughterhouses. In 1990, she formed an animal rights group in Asheville, organizing various grassroots outreach events and campaigns.

>> Read more about Kayla