Meet Our Team

 Lisa Wade is a teacher, community organizer, and environmental and animal rights activist. She grew up with her sister Debbie in Africa, where she developed a deep love and respect for nature and animals She had many beloved childhood pets, including her cat Snowy who was her very best friend.
Lisa taught in the public school system for seven years before homeschooling her two boys all the way through high school. Lisa co-organized and ran a small homeschool center in Los Gatos providing classes for the local community. It was her children’s pet rats who really opened Lisa‘s eyes to the beauty and intelligence of all animals. The love and friendship she received from these remarkable creatures inspired her to work for the rights of all animals.
Lisa became active as a community organizer for Santa Clara County Activists for Animals, where she helped organize outreach to educate the public about the cruelty and environmental degradation involved in animal agriculture.
Currently, Lisa is active with her sister Debbie and other like-minded friends as an organizer for Plant-Based Advocates. Lisa is passionate about preserving the biodiversity of animals and plants. Her interests include birdwatching, native plant gardening, and promoting coexistence with wildlife. Her other passions include hiking, yoga, growing food, spending time with her family, and walking her dog Frosty Bear. Lisa’s goal in life is to help create a healthy planet to sustain her own children and future generations.
Email: lisawade444@gmail.com 

 Karen Estensen Rubio is an animal rights and food system activist. Her career stints include high-tech marketing writing, co-founding a data center, and dog boarding. 
Her animal advocacy started early: As a youngster, she found injured birds and nursed them to health, gathered signatures to petition the King of Norway to stop whale and harp seal hunting, and become vegetarian in 1974 at age 13.  In 2013, after suffering for years from chronic, debilitating arthritis, her friend Lynette suggested a whole foods plant-based diet. Within one week of changing her diet the arthritis disappeared, never to return. Once Karen stopped eating meat and dairy, her eyes were opened to the immense suffering of farmed animals and our broken food system that is dominated by large corporations that promote foods incompatible with good health. 
When she’s not singing the praises of plant-based nutrition, Karen can be found hiking with her husband and three boys, backpacking, camping, writing and visiting her legion of doggo friends.   Email: karenr@phc.net  

 Debbie Parsons grew up in Africa where she developed a deep appreciation of wildlife and the outdoors.  Her childhood home was filled with pets, including rabbits, cats and dogs, who were her best friends. Her grandmother Ruth showed her the incredible joy that a dog can bring to your life.               
As a vegetarian athlete at UC Berkeley, Debbie made it to the Pac-10 finals in her track and field event. After college she studied law, then wrote criminal appeals until she became a parent. 
Debbie was forever changed by her beloved dog Frasier, who was a happy and loving dog despite a debilitating injury. Frasier inspired her to transition from vegetarian to vegan and to advocate for a kinder, healthier, and more sustainable world.
Email: debbieparsons5@gmail.com 

 Mary Mackey always had sweet pets around her while growing up, both cats and dogs. She loved her pets but it wasn't until visiting the Gentle Barn in Los Angeles that she learned about the horrific treatment of animals in factory farms and the effect of animal agriculture on our planet. After touring The Gentle Barn they served yummy vegan hot dogs. She realized how easy it would be to eat vegan, especially if it meant saving the lives of animals. Mary then delved into veganism and made the transition. 
When her mother got sick and had to receive more care in a nursing facility, Mary saw first hand how many sick people there were and wondered if there was something she could do to help. She read the book How Not to Die by Dr. Greger and learned how eating a plant-based diet can significantly reduce the risk of top chronic diseases that are plaguing our country. She was shocked to learn that most doctors don't learn about nutrition in medical school. This impassioned Mary to further her education and become a certified Holistic Nutritionist. She now teaches people how to incorporate a more plant-based lifestyle, helping them avoid the top chronic diseases resulting in a happier healthier life. More information on Mary’s nutrition services can be found at www.thewholesomevegan.com  
Mary is also an actress and teaches presentation skills in the San Francisco bay area.
Email: marymacbookpals@gmail.com 

 Shailaja "Shai" Venkatsubramanyan grew up in Mumbai, India in a vegetarian household.  Twenty-five years ago, Shai switched to a vegan diet when she realized that dairy in her diet was exacerbating her cystic acne.   Later, on realizing the cruelty toward cows in the modern dairy industry, she regarded the skin condition as a blessing in disguise. 
Shai has a Ph.D. in Information Systems from the University of Arizona and has taught at Tulane University and San Jose State University.   Besides teaching, Shai's passions include writing, yoga, cooking, and being a mother to her two children.  Shai considers herself to be a lifelong learner.
Email: shailaja30@gmail.com 

 Kathleen Willey grew up in San Jose, California in a neighborhood that was previously a cherry orchard when Santa Clara Valley was filled with agriculture. The youngest of six kids, she developed a love of the outdoors during many family camping and house boating trips. There were always family dogs throughout the years and this led to her love of all animals. In her younger years she had terrible asthma that often prevented her from doing PE with her friends. Once she went Whole Foods Plant Based she started placing in her age group in various runs in the Bay Area, running faster than she had 20 years earlier! She also enjoys mountain biking and road biking, having completed many 50 mile and century rides with her husband Mark. She also traveled extensively with her previous job with a large travel company,  her favorites being Italy and Hawaii. 
She has passed on her love of the outdoors to her family and recently hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite with her husband and 11 year old twin boys. Some of her favorite pastimes are watching her boys play baseball, trying new vegan recipes, hiking with her beloved dog Honey and going on family trips to Oregon. 
Her passion for veganism led to the creation of the Facebook group Plant Based Friends and then Plant Based Advocates which serves plant based meals to some of the local homeless communities. They also successfully petitioned her Town to pass the Green Monday resolution to reduce their meat and dairy intake.  She has also been working with a non-profit to educate kids about their food choices and the impacts it has on the environment, health, and animals. 
She is passionate about creating a kinder and more sustainable world for her young boys through education and positive outreach to the community.
Email: vegankathleen@gmail.com 

Hillary Liband, MA was born and raised in the Bay Area, and embraces the values of her environmentally-conscious upbringing. Holding a California teaching credential, Hillary has shared her passion for English Language Arts in diverse educational settings, spanning college, high school, and middle school classrooms. Accompanying traditional academics, she invites her students to explore and question our food system and the treatment of animals. In 2017, Hillary's life took a positive turn when she became a caregiver to chickens. These precious beings brought newfound warmth to her heart and sparked a fervor for advocating on behalf of all farmed animals. Hillary and her husband continue to rescue animals to ensure they live the healthy, love-filled lives they deserve. In addition to championing animal and environmental causes, Hillary finds joy in reading, writing, hiking, volunteering at farmed animal sanctuaries, and preparing delicious plant-based meals to share with those she loves.

 Jan Liband is a fact-based environmentalist, activist, and highly regarded public speaker on food choices, health, and our food system’s impact on the environment. Professionally, Jan has worked as the Chief Marketing Officer for several Silicon Valley companies. As a Bay Area native growing up near Stanford, Jan has long been involved with environmental causes. It was in the mid-1980s that he discovered how our typical food choices are neither healthy nor sustainable. As a result, he became vegan in 1987 and committed himself to further research and plant-based advocacy. With a degree in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz and extensive knowledge on food and environmental issues, Jan has presented at numerous Bay Area venues, including the SF World Veg Fest, Sonoma County Veg Fest, public libraries, and various community organizations. He also works with the producers of the award-winning documentary, Eating Our Way to Extinction, to present at hosted screenings. In addition to advocacy, Jan is an accomplished athlete, martial artist, and professional musician who loves discovering and preparing delicious plant-based dishes.