Our Advisory Council

Kate Nattrass Atema has spent her career focused on developing innovative strategies for engaging communities in animal welfare and conservation. As Director of Community Grants Initiatives at PetSmart Charities, she oversees more than $25M in grant programs and partnerships focused on ensuring accessible veterinary care, safe housing, food and other critical resources for families with pets in diverse and underserved communities across the U.S. and Canada. Prior to joining PetSmart Charities, she served as director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s global companion animals and community engagement programs and as chairperson of the International Companion Animal Management Coalition from 2010-2019, where she is now a Trustee. She implemented collaborative community-sustained programs focused on the intersection of animal welfare and community health in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program, as well as with public health, conservation authorities and local and tribal governments in multiple countries. She received her M.S. in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University, where she has served as adjunct faculty and is currently a Senior Faculty Fellow. She is also a contributing lecturer at University of Edinburgh’s International Animal Welfare Ethics and Law program. Kate has lived and worked all over the world, but is currently exploring the red rocks of Phoenix, Arizona.

Whitney Beer-Kerr is an award-winning producer who specializes in science and conservation storytelling. She has over a decade of experience crafting documentary films as well as strategic digital content for nonprofit, government, academic, and corporate clients. Whitney has worked in a variety of styles and formats, including animation, 360, VR/AR, celebrity-hosted, gaming, and interactive media. She has a Master of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University where she studied environmental science and behavior change communications. Her work has been featured on NatGeo, PBS, Smithsonian Channel, Hulu, CuriosityStream, Upworthy, Xbox, and other platforms.

Her unique approach melds social science, neuropsychology, and behavior change theory with the power of storytelling to tap into core values, shift attitudes, and inspire behavior change—promoting a more sustainable and compassionate coexistence with the natural world. Whitney is also on the Board of Directors of Hawaii Marine Animal Response where she previously served as Development Manager and Field Response Manager.

Jennifer Contegiacomo has over 20 years’ broad experience advising public and private entities on matters ranging from substantive legal issues to administrative and financial decisions affecting risk management, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and securities offerings. She has worked with clients in a wide range of industries, including ecommerce, fashion apparel, manufacturing, packaging, solid waste management and recycling, mining, telecommunications, biotechnology and healthcare. Jennifer is an enthusiastic consensus builder, skilled at growing, leading and motivating diverse teams, leveraging technology and developing processes that simultaneously drive efficiency and maintain employee satisfaction.

She is honored to serve as a member of the board of directors for Thinking Animals United, a mentor to law school students through the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and a mentor to a high school student through Student Sponsor Partners.

John de Graaf is a documentary filmmaker, with more than 15 national PBS specials and over 100 filmmaking awards, with a focus on environmental issues. The John de Graaf Environmental Filmmaking Award is presented annually in his honor at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in California. He is the author of four books, including the international best-seller AFFLUENZA: THE ALL CONSUMING EPIDEMIC, and hundreds of published articles. He is the co-founder of Take Back Your Time, a non-profit challenging overwork in America; the Happiness Alliance; and And Beauty for All. He is a frequent conference and college speaker on issues of sustainability and happiness. In 2013, he was an advisor on Time Balance to the government of Bhutan for its GNH program. He is a board member of Earth Island Institute and Human Agenda, and an advisory board member for several other organizations. His most recent film is STEWART UDALL: THE POLITICS OF BEAUTY, completed in 2022: Stewart Udall: The Politics of Beauty.

Heather Haines is the Director of Convening and Engagement for Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy. Before joining Milken, Heather was Global Event Manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), overseeing the organization’s convenings, ranging from webinars to fundraising galas. Previously, she served as Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships with the END Fund, which is focused on fighting neglected tropical diseases. As part of her role in managing the “adventure fundraisers,” Heather successfully climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and less successfully “ran” the Victoria Falls Marathon. At Meridian International Center, Heather worked closely with the diplomatic community and US Government in her role as Vice President of Public Programs. Prior to that, she ran over 100 events annually at D.C.-based think tank, Center for Global Development. Other positions in the literary and cinematic realms included stints organizing author events at the downtown D.C. Barnes & Noble and reading scripts for Miramax Films in New York City. Heather has a Bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma University, a Masters in Literature from the University of North Texas, and completed coursework for a PhD in English Literature from the University of Oklahoma. She is a stalwart volunteer at the Humane Rescue Alliance and a Board member of Pigs & Pugs Project, which shares micro-grants to pig sanctuaries and pug rescues. Heather has three dogs, including Dakota, a street pup from Tanzania who is faster in her wheels than her whippet and bully siblings.

Kristin has over 25 years’ experience in leadership, fundraising and organizational development for environmental, conservation and animal protection NGOs, with a particular focus on growth and transformation to support organizational change. She is currently the Director of Development for the Animal Legal Defense Fund; founded in 1979, ALDF has blazed the trail for stronger enforcement of anti-cruelty laws and more humane treatment of animals across the United States. She has led fundraising efforts for leading NGOs across Canada, the US and in Europe, raising hundreds of millions of dollars to protect our global environment and animals. Previous roles include among others Director, Fundraising and Strategic Partnerships Europe for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW); Director of International Fundraising for PETA, and Private Philanthropy Advisor and World Parks Congress Officer for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN); and Director of Development for the David Suzuki Foundation. She previously served as a volunteer for one year in Uganda, providing organizational development support and guidance to a leading mountain gorilla conservation organization, the Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust. Kristin currently serves in a volunteer capacity as a member of the Policy Committee of the Green Party of Manitoba, as well as Board Director for FLAP Canada, a non-profit dedicated to reducing migratory bird fatality in urban environments. She holds a BA in political science as well as an LL.B. from the University of Manitoba, and upon completing law school was called to the Ontario Bar.

Jan Church McAlpine is currently based in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She is the former Director of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), based at UN Headquarters in New York. The UNFF is a body in the United Nations made up of 197 countries in the United Nations. She previously served as the Senior Advisor and lead negotiator for Forests in the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, and in that role headed the interagency and stakeholder process in the development of the President’s Initiative against Illegal Logging (PIAIL). She also led in the development of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership at the Department of State, launched at the WSSD in Johannesburg by Secretary Colin Powell in September, 2002. Ms. McAlpine conceived and developed the Asia and Africa Forest Law Enforcement and Governance Ministerial processes, working with the World Bank, the UK and the governments of Indonesia and Cameroon, subsequently with many other partners, including the EU. In 2007 and 2008, Ms. McAlpine was a Visiting Scholar and Senior Researcher at the University of Michigan’s School for Natural Resources and Environment, where she co facilitated and chaired the first National Summit on Adaptation to Climate Change and edited the proceedings for the Summit. She also helped to establish the Central Africa Forest Research Initiative. Ms. McAlpine served in the U.S. Government from 1989 to 2013; she worked in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) focusing on international policy issues, including developing the first advisory committee to the Administrator on trade and environment issues. Subsequently she worked at the White House, first with the President’s Council on Sustainable Development and then in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as the trade negotiator on forest timber, tobacco, and head of delegation to the International Tropical Timber Organization (also served as Chairman of the Council), and US Trade Representative to the Montreal Protocol. Prior to her career in the U.S. Government, Ms. McAlpine worked for 11 years for the Water Environment Federation, an international science and educational association in the water quality field. Currently, she is a professional tutor at Southwestern Michigan Regional College.

She is a Councillor of the World Future Council.

Laura Musikanski is the Executive Director and co-Founder of the Happiness Alliance (at happycounts.org). She has consulted communities and governments in measuring happiness including Kootenay and Thompson Okanagan in Canada; Eau Clair in Wisconsin, Seattle in Washington, and national governments including United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bali, and Thailand. Books she has authored included The Happiness Policy Handbook; Happiness, Wellbeing and Sustainability: A Course in Systems Change; and Mindfulness for a Happy Life. Laura is a lawyer with an MBA and certificates in environmental law and regulation as well as environmental management, her version of a sustainability education before such was available.

Ms. Nathai-Gyan is the current Chairman of the Environmental Management Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, holding that position now for five 5 years. She also holds the chairmanship of the National Sea Turtle Task Force and serves as the Conservation Adviser for the Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago. Her career started at the Forestry Division of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago lasting for over 20 years – serving as Head of Wildlife for the last 13 years of her employment, where she administered wildlife and wetland conservation programmes, including the related Conventions of CITES and Ramsar and provided secretariat duties for the Cabinet-appointed Wildlife Conservation, Honorary Game Warden and National Wetlands Committees. She is familiar with the Caribbean conservation arena, through her work with MEAs and having taught the senior regional foresters at the Eastern Caribbean Institute of Agriculture and as the coordinator of the Conservation Leadership in the Caribbean programme (CLIC) 2016 – 2019. Nadra believes in respecting the gifts of nature and its interconnectedness with human well-being.

Jose Fernando Ochoa Pineda, Executive Director and Founding Member at Defensa Ambiental del Noroeste (DAN), a public interest lawyers nonprofit organization working to protect biodiversity and environmental human rights in Northwest Mexico (NWM). He is also currently serving as senior legal advisor for Pronatura Noroeste, the largest conservation organization in NWM. Fernando holds a Law degree from the Universidad Intercontinental (Mexico City) and Postgraduate studies in Environmental Law and Policies and Criminal Law. His working experience includes four years as associate lawyer in a private attorney’s office bureau, as well as more than 19 years of experience in environmental conservation and environmental human rights protection at the nonprofit sector. Fernando is an active member of the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (E-LAW) and is former legal advisor for the Waterkeeper Alliance Programs of the Baja California Peninsula. Some of the cornerstones of his career are the development of the legal strategies for the conservation, through private-legal mechanisms, of nearly half a million acres of land in NWM; the development and implementation of legal strategies and legal actions for the protection of endangered species (Whaleshark, Graywhale, Whiteshark, Jaguar, etc.) and significant ecosystems of NWM. At the academic sector, Fernando has been invited as keynote-speaker at various forums in North and South America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Jason Rylander is a public interest lawyer who represents environmental groups in federal courts on matters involving climate change and species conservation. He is currently Senior Attorney in the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity and an adjunct professor of wildlife law at the American University’s Washington School of Law. He is a founding member of the National Council on Implementation of the Rights of Nature, convened by the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights with indigenous leaders and legal scholars to advance rights of nature principles in American law. Jason previously served as senior counsel for Defenders of Wildlife, counsel for Community Rights Counsel, an associate at Perkins Coie, LLP, and as managing editor of Land Letter. He received a B.A. in Government from Cornell University and a J.D. from the William & Mary School of Law.

Shawn Sweeney is Associate Vice President of Communications at Jane Goodall Institute.  He is committed to mission-driven communications and marketing to advance wildlife conservation and humane education. His specialties include strategic communications planning, integrated marketing, brand management, storytelling, development and community engagement with partners, media and corporations. At Jane Goodall Institute he works to create connections among the organization’s staff, constituents, supporters and the wider world. Shawn has a Masters of Education in Humane Education.

Kate Wall is the Senior Legislative Manager with the US Office of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), representing wildlife and habitat conservation, wildlife trafficking, and appropriations priorities before the federal legislature. Before joining IFAW, Kate was a senior lobbyist with The Humane Society of the United States where she managed a large and diverse policy portfolio focused on wildlife protection, animal testing, and agriculture. Kate received a B.S. in biology with a concentration in fine art from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA, and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. She is a past member of the League of Conservation Voters Scorecard Advisory Committee and a member of Women in Government Relations. Kate and her husband Ben live in Mount Rainier, MD with their rescue cats.

Alison Zak is an anthropologist, wildlife conservationist, writer, and yoga teacher. In 2021 she founded the Human-Beaver Coexistence Fund (HBCF), a nonprofit that educates the public about the benefits of coexisting with beavers and provides resources and financial support to address human-beaver conflict using nonlethal management strategies. In addition to serving as the executive director of HBCF, she is the chair of the National Beaver Education Working Group, board secretary for the Endangered Primate Foundation, a National Geographic Certified Educator, and an Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leader fellow. She holds an MA in Anthropology from San Diego State University and a BA in Anthropology from University of South Florida. Her first book, Wild Asana: Animals, Yoga, and Connecting Our Practice to the Natural World will be released in 2023