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The Humane League Senior Leadership Team
The Humane League Senior Leadership Team
Shape the future direction and strategy of our organization, and provide essential support—for the animals—by joining our team as a member of our board of directors.
Chair
Alicia teaches Animal Law at Delaware Law School as an adjunct professor of law. Alicia graduated from Harvard Law School in 2015, where she served as the President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and subsequently worked as a corporate litigator at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom after law school.
Vice Chair
Melody Hildebrandt is Executive Vice President, Engineering and Chief Information Security Officer at FOX. She has a background in software engineering and wargame development and spent her early career with the Department of Defense and Palantir Technologies.
Secretary
Jacob is a NYC-based cryptocurrency entrepreneur from Montreal who has worked at startups, in finance, and as a teacher. He is actively involved in NYC’s “effective altruism” community.
Treasurer
Yaqi is a venture capital investor with a primary focus on the alternative protein space. Having begun her career at Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, she transitioned into venture capital to actively invest in and promote sustainable and innovative solutions in the food industry. Yaqi has been contributing to the animal protection movement since 2011, with a particular dedication to effective animal advocacy.
Director
Mark is a dedicated animal advocate that has been a part of the animal protection movement since 2005. Since then, Mark has been a volunteer, employee, donor, and board member of various animal protection groups. In 2008, he leveraged his background in engineering and art to found a web and game development company that allowed him support animal groups through donations. He joined THL’s Board of Directors in 2015 and served as Board Chair from 2017-2021.
Director
Neysa has a background in change management and strategy execution, training and facilitation, and engineering and business consulting. She is an Expert Principal at Bain and Company.
Director
Craig has a background in strategic planning, execution, and go-to-market strategy. He brings global experience having led teams across EMEA, APAC and North America. He has worked in corporate finance and, more recently, with technology start-ups. Craig is a multiple time CEO with a history of success in scaling companies. Craig is currently the Chief Revenue Officer at MadCap Software.
Dan Shannon (he/him) is the Chief Executive Officer of The Humane League. A longtime animal advocate, Dan began his career at PETA, leading corporate campaigns that improved animal welfare standards at major companies like Burger King, KFC, and Whole Foods Market. He then led PETA’s youth division, peta2, which earned recognition as Ad Age Guerilla Marketer of the Year. Dan later spent ten years at Purpose, a social impact consultancy, designing campaigns for organizations like UNICEF and Feeding America, while also leading projects for animal rights groups. Before joining The Humane League, he served as Chief Partnerships Officer at Tides, overseeing programs, partnerships, and fundraising.
Alongside his wife, Dan co-founded a vegan food and lifestyle brand and co-authored two cookbooks, including the award-winning Betty Goes Vegan. He lives in the New York City area with his wife, daughter, dog, and two cats.
Alex (he/him) is a strategist driven by intuition and fueled by data, and he is fortunate to work and collaborate with dozens of THL colleagues across the globe, and hundreds more via the Animal Policy & Open Wing Alliance, to make the world a better place for animals. Teams that Alex works with have been responsible for hundreds of corporate commitments and instrumental policy changes to eradicate some of the worst forms of animal abuse. Alex is hopeful for a future with much less suffering for human and non-human animals and grateful for the opportunity to initiate, empower, and accelerate change for farm animals worldwide.
Karen Nilsen is the Senior Vice President of Engagement at The Humane League, leading Public Relations, THL Studios, Organizing, and Digital Engagement. A Danish-Australian animal activist with over 20 years of experience, she moved to the US in 2019 to help animals globally and amplify high-impact work like that of The Humane League.
Prior to THL, she helped lead successful people-powered campaigns in Australia that paved the way for national phaseouts of live sheep exports and battery cages, and authored Building Digital Power—a free e-book for advocates dedicated to all the animals we have yet to save. Karen brings a global movement-minded outlook, promoting bold creativity and challenging stagnation to end factory farming cruelty sooner.
Kalista Barter is the Senior Vice President of Development—leading THL’s fundraising program that prioritizes cultivating meaningful relationships with some of THL’s most important partners, our donors. Kalista has spent nearly two decades raising funds to help animals, and joined THL in 2019 to focus her career on expanding programs that maximize the impact of every dollar donated. Since joining THL, she and her team have doubled THL’s operating budget and secured one of the largest grants ever awarded to an animal protection organization, enabling THL to change the lives of hundreds of millions more animals. Kalista was awarded a Leadership Scholarship to attend the University of Southern California, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. She lives in the San Diego, CA area with her husband and her snake, Buster.
Jay Meisel is General Counsel of The Humane League, where he leads legal, compliance, and risk management functions. He has served as counsel in the advocacy sector since 2010, most notably as General Counsel at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and at Greenpeace USA. He has worked extensively with activists advising on campaigns and strategy and has helped defend them in nationally recognized litigation. He believes in the power of organizations like The Humane League that aim to end cruelty and improve the lives of animals and people.