Join the Compassion Collective

Clara’s commitment to animal advocacy began when she was nine years old, after she was expelled from her elementary school for starting a petition to end animal cruelty on campus. As a financial aid student at a private school, she was devastated when the administration decided that her activism made her more trouble than she was worth. Being separated from her close friends at such a young age was heartbreaking, and it could easily have led her to leave the movement altogether. But several animal protection organizations learned about the incident and reached out to tell her she had done the right thing. They flooded the school with letters of support, sent Clara copies of every one, and even featured her in an animal advocacy magazine for kids under the headline, “Rebels with a Cause”. As a 4th grader, that was everything.

Now identifying as an animal rights “rebel”, animal advocacy became central to her identity. A few months later, she went vegetarian, despite not knowing anyone else who was, and she has remained vegetarian ever since. She has now been vegan for nearly eight years.

That experience taught Clara something she carries with her to this day: the profound power that money holds in determining what we are able to do—and the importance of directing it toward what is right. Today, as Director of Leadership Giving at Mercy For Animals, Clara loves getting to know the people who support this movement and helping connect their generosity with work that makes a difference for animals around the world. She believes deeply in the power of philanthropy to create change and is passionate about helping ensure that people’s resources go toward building a kinder, more compassionate world.