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© Alana Davida Gerson, 2013 Passion to Action: The Interested but Uninvolved Page 1 of 29
Passion to Action:
The Interested but Uninvolved
Until recently, only those from the scientific community and established organizations
were considered reputable advocates and activists1
for the natural environment and
endangered species. Now, with the public’s realization of the adverse direct and indirect effects
of the human population on the Earth’s complex and interdependent ecosystems, there is an
ever more pressing need to extend those advocacy efforts beyond the traditional community
and into the hands of the ‘local ambassadors’ who
have the passion, skills, time, and network to
further spread awareness, educate, and engage
the general public. For this paper I have
interviewed six ‘local ambassadors’ within New
York City who have made extraordinary impacts
within their local community and beyond. Their passion and commitment led them to make an
impactful change for something they believe in. All the interviewees come from a variety of
backgrounds but share a few similarities:
1. Passion for the conservation of animals and wildlife;
2. Strategies to take their passion to action; and,
3. No scientific academic background.
Each ‘local ambassador’s’ journey is unique to their passion, skills, and time but their strategies
to becoming an advocate for their cause are similar and transferable to anyone.
Even though this paper is focused on the advocates for the conservation of animals and
wildlife, their journeys and strategies are relevant to anyone looking to pursue their passion,
whatever it may be, in a more active and fulfilled manner. Later in this paper, I discuss in detail
the shared strategies of these advocates to encourage engagement among those who are
interested but uninvolved, to get involved as an advocate for their cause.
1.
For the purpose of this paper, the terms
advocate and activist are interchangeable
Local Ambassadors: Those within
the general public who have the
passion, skills, time, and network to
spread awareness, educate, and
engage the general public

Local Ambassadors
Jane Goodall, an inspirational person to many conservationists and someone that each
of the six people I interviewed recognized as influential for them personally, voiced concern
years ago about the general public’s lack of awareness of the world’s depleting species and
their habitats, in particular chimpanzees. She decided to leave her beloved Gombe National
Park in Kenya to travel around the world advocating, educating, and bringing awareness to the
world’s youth of the Earth’s endangered species and their environment. Jane writes in her most
recent book, Hope for All Animals and Their World, “It is not much use for me or anyone else to
work desperately to save animals and their world if we are not, at the same time, educating our
youth to be better stewards than we have been”.1
I agree that there exists a crucial need to
raise awareness and educate beyond the scientific journals and universities and, while Jane
Goodall speaks to the youth, I hope to speak to those of any adult age, who have exhibited an
interest in the conservation of the natural environment and influence them to become active
advocates.
By identifying the common strategies that ignited interviewed advocates flame for
action, my hope is that this will influence others and the pool of activists will expand. As Jane
Goodall writes “To save Planet Earth, each of us who cares must become involved in protecting
and restoring the wild places, and the animals and plants that live there”.2
‘Local ambassadors’
take their passion to another level by getting involved and doing something beyond reading,
feeling helpless and hopeless and dreading for the future of our world.
Conservation Psychology
In this section I will discuss a new field of psychology striving to bring forward and
address the larger issue at hand which is the general public’s lack of awareness for and care of
the past, present, and future relationship between humans and the natural environment.
Conservation Psychology, CP, is the study of “the reciprocal relationships between humans and
1
Goodall, 2009 p.256
2
Ibid p.353

the rest of nature, with a particular focus on how
to encourage conservation of the natural
world”.3
This multidisciplinary field has
similarities to conservation biology,
environmental psychology, environmental
sociology, human ecology and many others.
Through this collaborative network of
professionals, CP’s mission tackles the larger issue of encouraging the general public “to care
about and take care of the natural world”.4
There isn’t one solution or strategy to achieve that
harmonious human – nature relationship but it is obvious that a collaboration with the social
sciences will be required to give insight to ways for influencing humans to change their
behavior and attitudes, as well as deepen their understanding about their natural environment.
How an individual identifies with the natural environment is very personal. If everyone
realized their environmental identity and psychologically understood their connection and
place within their local and global ecosystem, the world would not be in the degraded state it
currently is in. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Some people at a very young age develop a
love for and connection with animals and the natural environment, others develop it later on in
life but very few people who are not scientists understand and appreciate the importance of
our planet’s diverse and complex ecosystems. Most people connect with tangible objects such
as a specific species, whether animal or plant, and
establish a connection to protect that specific species;
that reason alone is good enough for me. But other
people, who have not acquired an affinity towards
animals and plants, do not see the purpose for their
existence and want a scientific reason or justification.
Some people even view their sole purpose for
existence is for human use and benefit and with that anthropocentric perspective, hopefully in
3
Saunders, 2003 p.138
4
Ibid p.138
Conservation Psychology: Mission
is to foster a more harmonious
relationship between humans and
nature by encouraging the general
public towards conservation
behaviors and attitudes.
Individually, these species are
beautiful and magnificent, but
collectively as an ecosystem each
species of animal and plant are
codependent and the extinction of
one sends destructible waves
through the ecosystem.

time CP will figure out a way to educate them on the real purpose of the natural environment
and its relationship to humans.
The scientific answer I have heard from discussions with leading scientific
conservationists is these species, individually, are beautiful and magnificent, but collectively as
an ecosystem each species of animal and plant are codependent and the extinction of one
sends destructible waves through the world’s interconnected ecosystems. Incidentally, these
ramifications are not as evident or tangible to the general public as the quantifiable number of
poached elephants in a year, the square footage of Amazonian forests and coral reefs
destroyed, the pounds of garbage in the Atlantic Ocean or the number of Earth circumferences
of plastic bottles that we use. While these messages can be effective to some degree by
inspiring the current generation to take responsibility to protect and conserve the world’s
ecosystems for future generations, they do not necessarily promote an understanding that we,
as homo sapiens, are not outside of these ecosystems but members of them and heavily
dependent upon their future conservation. By adjusting our communication strategy to bringing
awareness to the importance of these ecosystems, we will be more effective at inspiring long
term behavioral change and attitudes towards the environment ensuring the protecting and
conservation of our ecosystems. To encourage the general public to seek out their
environmental identity and make this transition to view the planet as a web of intertwined
interdependent ecosystems is a herculean challenge. One that I truly wish CP can achieve but I
have a hard time believing is possible.
As much as I would like to see that happen within the general public, I have noticed that
so many of these national and local organizations who have large and small networks are not
able to achieve this or even encourage their members to go beyond financial donations. Prior to
2009, I was one of those non-active financial donors, but since then, I have slowly increased my
involvement to considering myself a ‘local ambassador’, now in 2013. I have read, written, and
networked with New York City’s Environmental and Conservation community. I continually
volunteer at environmental and conservation organizations and follow people and newsletters
to stay current and well informed. While thinking about what to write my Master’s Capstone

on, I began asking myself how I got to where I am today. How did I turn my passion into action?
How did I go from someone who psychologically, physically, and emotionally couldn’t read or
hear about the inhumane treatment of
animals to someone who yearns to learn
more so I can present the facts and educate
others in hopes of engaging their interest to get them involved? This, along with many other
questions, came up because I didn’t understand how and why I was able to push myself from
being an interested reader, merely gathering information, to being an advocate spreading
awareness and actively seeking change; and that maybe if I understood that, I could influence
and inspire others who are on a similar step to take that next step. After much deliberation the
question that summed up everything was “What was the trigger point for you to turn your
Passion into Action” – a question I asked each interviewee.
The six people whom I chose to interview I met in the past year through graduate
school, networking and volunteering for a variety of organizations. They each come from non-
scientific backgrounds and are at varying levels of advocacy from just starting out to being a few
years into managing their own non-profits. They are a strong supportive community to each
other looking to raise awareness and bring in the general public. All of these people are self-
made activists and advocates that have either balanced their passion with their day jobs and or
have found a way to make their passion their day jobs. In order of appearance they are: Wendy
Stuart Kaplan, Erika Mansourian, Bonnie Wyper, Allie Feldman, Joe Whelski, and Maren Lange.
What was the trigger point for you to turn
your Passion into Action?

Wendy Stuart Kaplan:
Wendy Stuart Kaplan is a woman of many outfits. She is a model and actor, does fit
development for fashion manufacturers and is an advocate and activist for the preservation of
wildlife – all with a bachelors in anthropology. In her words, “I really do run the gamut”. In her
50’s, she has found a way to successfully make everything work in a balanced and fulfilled life.
“When you are an activist you want to make an impact on something. You think out of the box
and spend a lot of time living outside that box” says Wendy. On top of her day jobs and her
philanthropic work with NYC nonprofits, she has dedicated the last nine years to being the
Model With a Mission raising awareness through her world travels. Through her youtube
channel, she takes her viewers on eco-trips around the world interviewing and filming the
unknown advocates and activists working for the preservation of their local animals and
wildlife.
What was the trigger point for you to turn your Passion into Action – Model With A Mission?
Nine years ago there was a particular casting for a Miss Adventure on Animal Planet and
I knew that I was perfect for this. I had already personally shot a video in the Amazon
talking to local people about how they were rescuing animals and making a difference in
the developing worlds. So my agent and I were positive that I would get this role. But to
Wendy Stuart Kaplan
Born: Bronx, NY
Resides: NYC
Age: 50’s
Degree: Bachelor’s in Anthropology
Occupation: Actor, Model, Fit Development for Fashion Manufacturers
Influential People: Dian Fossey, Virginia McKenna, Bryan Christy
“When you are an activist you want to make an impact on something. You think out of the box
and spend a lot of time living outside that box.”
“Go to an organization and find out how I could best use my talents.”

my surprise, Animal Planet gave it to a 27 year old girl, who I always bring up as ‘another
size 2’. She fit the profile – she looks like girls on other travel channels.
After you get kicked to the curb enough times, whether in your professional or personal
life – it doesn’t matter, you develop a thick skin. And you say to yourself ‘the hell with it.
This is my dream; this is my passion.’ When I didn’t hear anything from Animal Planet –
probably because no one saw my tape – that was the point when I realized you have to
go out there and get it yourself.
So I said to myself after that, ‘Okay so this is what’s going on...well I can’t wait for
someone to do this for me and I really want to make a difference.’ So I am going to
create my own brand. And I came up with the idea of traveling around the world with
my family two weeks out of each year that we would pay for. We would go as either as
volunteers on a project or just go to do interviews with people doing something
incredible on the other side of the world. This has involved anything from being with
8000 Siberian Cranes in the northern dessert of India at 5:30am freezing my keester off
to volunteering at an elephant orphanage in Thailand where two Australian women
were working with a Thai native to save the elephant population there. I have met
people that are saving woolly monkeys in the jungle; it really does run the gamut. In the
end, my goal is to have these videos develop into a show or something about an
ordinary person, who is me, who buys a plane ticket to document or do something
incredible on the other side of the world.
How do you find new opportunities and subjects for your videos?
Well, nobody is calling me up and saying, ‘Oh you know, we want you to come and tell
us what is happening with the chimpanzee population in the Congo’. No one is offering
that to me. If I want to find that out, I go onto google, ya know, and I’ll search for life
threatening situation for chimpanzees in the Congo – really broad base search. Articles
will come up, boom boom boom, I’ll read through the articles and I’ll pull something out
of the articles. Maybe it’s the name of someone overseas or maybe someone in New
York I can talk too. So I’ll get in touch with that person and then that person will put me

in touch with someone else. The most amazing thing is, because this is my passion, I
have never had one door close in my face since Animal Planet.
A funny story, while I was doing a shoot in India where people said you needed permits,
I lied saying that we were shooting home videos of wild animals for our friends in NYC to
view. In the end, that got me a lot further than would have been applying for permits for
these places. To reiterate, sometimes you have to think out of the box.
Have you ever felt as though you needed more scientific education to be a more effective
advocate/activist for wildlife preservation?
As a brand ambassador, I memorize the facts that I feel are interesting and will get my
point across to connect people through video and film. But if I had more time, I would
100%! There is so much that I could add but it shouldn’t be the deal breaker. Some of
the most powerful people I have met in the world of conservation have little in the way
of degrees but they have the passion and there is nothing that is going to stop them. We
call them grassroots.
What tactics or strategies could those interested but uninvolved employ to get involved?
I would go to an organization and find out how I could best use my talents. I knew that
my strong point was what I can do on camera or what I can communicate, so I started to
think how I could use that. All of these organizations have fundraisers and if you have a
background in social media they could definitely use your help.
You cannot be afraid of the rejection and you can’t be afraid of personalities in these
organizations and causes.

Erika Mansourian:
Erika Mansourian is an Editorial Director of a dog magazine with a Bachelor’s in English
Literature and, most recently organized The International March for Elephants in New York City
for the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to bring awareness to the poaching crises in Africa. Her
passion, time and skills brought together hundreds of passionate people from New York,
Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. At the moment, she has reached a point when she
is thinking about her next move in the elephant conservation field. “I have been an editor my
whole professional life and I am trying to find a way to focus those skills on this particular
issue.”
What was the trigger point for you to turn your Passion into Action?
I am pretty new to the field of conservation. I have always had a passion for wildlife,
animals and elephants in particular but about 2 years ago, when I was turning 50 and
realizing life is short, I had one of those “aha” moments of not wanting to feel powerless
anymore. I think that birthday brought it home to me, so I decided I needed to stop just
Erika Mansourian
Born: West Chester, NY
Resides: NYC
Age: 51
Degree: Bachelor’s in English Literature
Occupation: Editorial Director of a dog magazine
Influential People: Jane Goodall, Dame Daphne Sheldrick, Sangduen Chailert (Lek)
“I decided I needed to stop just thinking about it and actually do something about it”
“Know that you can make a difference. Know that anything you do is better than doing nothing
and that doing nothing is in its own way kind of contributing to the problem”
“Just seeing other people’s commitment really keeps me going”

thinking about it and actually do something about it.
What were your strategies for getting your foot in the door?
I’ve gone to Thailand and Cambodia because I am also very interested in the captive
elephant population in those countries and other South East Asian countries. Just
research and you find one little group and from them you will find another and then
another group. I knew about Boon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand and I knew
about the David Sheldricks Wildlife Trust, so I just kind of started there. I have helped
with PR and marketing for the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, where we met. So
really, honestly, it was about googling and asking people.
What insights and inspirations did you gain along the way from others that you would like to
pass on to those still standing on the sidelines?
I guess couple of things:
One is I think the reason people stay uninvolved is they feel like they can’t actually
change anything. That they think they won’t make a difference. And what I have learned
is maybe that is true, I am not even going to say that it is not true but you’re certainly
not making a difference by not doing anything and there is at least that satisfaction that
comes from trying.
The other is, you are usually advocating because there is a problem and often when you
get thrown into seeing those problems on a more personal intense way, it’s challenging.
I think people are afraid of the painful feeling of ‘ugh, I just can’t take this anymore and
if I see one more picture of a baby elephant being tortured, I am going to give up.’ But I
would say, that you have to work through that and stay the course when it gets painful,
difficult and overwhelming.
What keeps you hopeful and positive with all the negativity around?
Other people; seeing other people doing it and seeing other people not giving up even
though it is overwhelming odds in both the Asian elephants captive population situation

in south East Asia and India and the African poaching crises. Just seeing other people’s
commitment really keeps me going.
Tell me about a time when you experience a sense of self-doubt or lack of-confidence and how
you overcame it?
The lack of confidence is the sense that I am not going to make a difference and feeling
like I don’t know what I am doing and feeling like I am not doing enough and feeling
like...umm…what I really need is a solution. And I think the way I push through is to
recognize that I don’t have to save the world; I just have to put one foot in front of the
other and do that next right step on the path. That kind of soothes the anxiety of what
am I doing and how I am doing this. And you know honestly, sometimes what I have to
do is withdraw from it for a bit so that I can come back with renewed enthusiasm.
How do you recommend the interested but uninvolved get involved within their community?
Know that you can make a difference. Know that anything you do is better than doing
nothing and that doing nothing is in its own way kind of contributing to the problem.
Standing back and watching stuff and feeling powerless contributes to whatever issue it
is you are concerned about. And again, the point I would want to make, is that you don’t
have to fix everything right away. You just take one little step and become informed and
recognize that like anything else you endeavor there are good people, there are bad
people, there are people who are self-interested, and people who are really committed
to the mission and don’t be discouraged. Sometimes when you go into advocacy work
you have this sort of idealistic sense that everybody is so benign and all working toward
the same goal and it’s not true - it’s like anything else whether you are a lawyer or a
doctor. There is good and bad and try not to get discouraged when you see that.

Bonnie Wyper:
Bonnie Wyper is the founder of the non-profit Thinking Animals. Thinking Animals “brings the
latest research in animal cognition and animal behavior to the public by holding seminars in
which leading scientists around the world participate.” On top of running her own non-profit
she sells real estate in New York. She has a BFA in Sculpture, half a MBA from Baruch College,
most recently received an Advanced Certificate in Psychology of Animal Behavior and
Conservation from Hunter College and is currently studying to further her Advanced Certificate
into a Master’s Degree.
There wasn’t that “aha” moment for me. I grew up with animals in my house and on my
grandparent’s farm so my passion for animals and their welfare was instilled in me at a
young age. In 2008/09, I was bored with real estate and wanted a change. I attended an
event where I met Irene Pepperberg, who has been a huge inspiration for me and others
with her achievements in the studies of animal cognition. She, then, invited me to
another benefit where I met a professor from Hunter College who mentioned to me
Bonnie Wyper
Born: Connecticut
Resides: NYC
Age: Over 60
Degree: BFA in Sculpture; ½ MBA; Advanced Certificate in Psychology of Animal Behavior and
Conservation; Candidate for Master’s in Psychology of Animal Behavior and Conservation
Occupation: Founder and Executive Director of Thinking Animals; Real Estate Agent
Influential People: Irene Pepperberg
“One of the biggest challenges anybody that works in the field is going to face is dealing with
the burn out factor”
“Find out who is out doing stuff and call them up. Ask some questions and see if you can meet”
“You have to be willing to open up and explore”

about the advanced certificate program for Psychology of Animal Behavior and
Conservation. I seized the opportunity for a change and since I am fundamentally
entrepreneurial, I knew that whatever I went into I would eventually start a business
from it. When I was studying at Hunter College, I was reading and doing a lot of research
and I realized that there was a lot of interesting stuff going on that never gets out
beyond the walls of academia. My goal with creating Thinking Animals was to provide
lecture series where working scientists, who have written popular books and articles,
could communicate their research to the public in hopes that once people realize how
cognitive and behaviorally similar we are to animals that people will become more
involved in the conservation and humane treatment of animals.
What were your steps for getting Thinking Animals up and running?
You have to raise money but you can’t raise money if you don’t have any programs or
credibility. So, the first thing I did was create the 501C-3 which would allow to me get
donations and those people get a tax-credit. And that took about six months. I did it
myself but you can choose to hire a lawyer or an accountant to do it but you are going
to pay a lot of money for it. During those six months, I put together a board of directors
and a science advisory board. I worked with both boards to come up with a list of
scientists who we could approach that might be interested in participating in the
lectures. My challenge was finding scientists that could easily translate scientific facts
into a language for an audience who have very little science background. Both of the
boards and the list of scientists were very important for credibility of the organization –
so I put together a website for everything to go up. The website work included a logo,
800-number, ticket collection, merchant accounts and a huge amount of detailed work
that needed to get done. We needed to show people our identity, mission and that
some effort had gone into creating this. We then put on a benefit to raise basic money
so we could start thinking about paying scientists to participate. We hit a bit of luck on
the night of the benefit when we got a call from a foundation out in California that had
seen our website and wanted to give $15,000 to Thinking Animals because they liked

what we were trying to do. Things like that can happen but you have to lay the ground
work first. You can’t just go out to the public saying that you have a really great idea and
this is what you are going to do so give us some money. It took about two years to get
all that ground work done. During that time, I had to convince people to work for free
because we had no money.
What is one your biggest struggles as an advocate/activist for animal conservation?
One of the biggest challenges anybody that works in the field is going to face is dealing
with the burn out factor. All of the images and abuses break your heart.
The other challenge for me is staying vigilant on Thinking Animals mission and
reminding myself that Thinking Animals is not an animal rights organization. We are all
fighting the same fight and there are plenty of animal rights organizations out there but
Thinking Animals is trying to do it through educating people that the difference between
us and animals is a matter of a degree.
How do you recommend the interested but uninvolved to get involved within their community?
Find out who is out doing stuff and call them up. Ask some questions and see if you can
meet. All of the people I work with now started out as volunteers to help out with
lectures. The more I got to know them the more I realized that their sets of skills are
valuable to the organization. You have to be willing to open up and explore.

Allie Feldman:
Allie Feldman is the Executive Director of NYCLASS, New York for Clean, Livable and Safe
Streets; an animal rights political advocacy organization that is currently campaigning to replace
NYC horse-drawn carriages with 1950’s electric cars. She has a Bachelor’s in Marketing, a Minor
in Theater and a Master’s in Applied American Politics and Policy. At 32 years old, she says that
she has always been an advocate for the environment, vocal for the past six years about her
feelings towards animals and an animal activist for the past two and a half years at NYCLASS. I
see myself as someone who is trying to pioneer new ways of advocating protection for animals
that aren’t typically seen in the protection movement.
I am trying to think what it was. I think that a lot of people are born wearing a picket
sign and you just have that natural disposition to want to fight for a cause. Since I was a
Allie Feldman
Born: Westfield, NJ
Resides: NYC
Age: 32
Degree: Bachelor’s in Marketing; Minor in Theater; Master’s in Applied American Politics and
Policy
Occupation: Executive Director of NYCLASS
Influential People: Dan Mathews, Russell Simons, Wendy Nu
“A lot of people who are animal advocates say that they have a moment when a light switch
goes off, when they come to this realization and ask why am I eating what I am eating”
“One of the mistakes that some of the organizations and even the movement make is they
don’t form these coalitions to get things done and they don’t work in step”
“90% of what you learn in politics and advocacy is in the field. The professionals that you work
with are the best teachers rather than in the classroom.”

little kid, my parents always taught me to stand up for what was right no matter what it
was; whether it was save the trees or the whales. It wasn’t until college that I actually
knew about the awful things happening to animals. I started little by little… I learned
about puppy mills and why it absolutely makes no sense to have commercially breeding
facilities when there are millions of adoptable dogs and cats who need homes.
My first job after college was working at the public advocate’s office and I don’t
remember why but I started to read stuff about PETA. I started to notice their ads in
magazines, subways, and online and I felt their messages where very powerful so I read
more literature from their website. I thought that it all made sense when they spoke
about factory farming, animals in captivity and all the inhumane things that we do to
animals. I remember growing up and hearing about how crazy PETA and other animal
rights organizations were and after reading their material, I didn’t think they were crazy.
I thought it was crazy that we weren’t doing enough about it. I think it’s crazy that
somebody can know that factory farming exists and still order a steak – I think that is
crazy. What really got me was the documentary, Food Inc. Specifically, the scene that
really changed my life was when they showed what it was like to slaughter and dissect a
cow. A lot of people who are animal advocates say that they have a moment when a
light switch goes off, when they come to this realization and ask “why am I eating what I
am eating”. That scene from Food Inc. was my “aha” moment when I could never look at
my food the same.
As I continued to look at the websites of ASPCA, Humane Society and PETA, I decided
that I wanted to make this part of my lifestyle and part of a career. So I told myself that
my next job needed to be something for animals and two and a half years ago I made
my move from the State Senate to NYCLASS. I see myself teaching and empowering
other people no matter what their backgrounds are, where they are in the country, or
what their resources are that anybody can move their elected officials at their local level
similarly to what NYCLASS is doing at the New York State level during this campaign and
election period.

What insights and inspirations did you gain along the way from others that you would like to
pass on to those still standing on the sidelines?
If you have something that you want to work on, you will always have people in your
way telling you that you are wrong or they have a better way of doing it. Those people
aren’t usually helpful. They are just people who want to give you their opinion and go
back to bed. Ignore them and keep doing what you are doing.
As an organization, what is NYCLASS’s relationship with larger established organizations?
We think one of the mistakes that some of the organizations and even the movement
make is they don’t form these coalitions to get things done and they don’t work in step.
We have been fortunate to have great relationships with those organizations and if
anything we look up to them for advice and guidance and they do the same to us. We
recognize and celebrate the fact that they do certain things better than we do and vice
versa.
How do you recommend the interested but uninvolved get politically involved within their
community?
I think one of the things the animal rights movement needs to do is educate our
supporters about why they need to get involved politically. During the 2012-2013
campaign we spent much of the time explaining to animal advocates that if they want to
see long term change for animals they were going to have to do it through political
movement and elections. To get long term change for animals we have to get animal-
friendly people into office and that is a long process that is not very glamorous. It means
being on the phone for eight hours a day calling voters, handing out flyers outside of
pet-stores and grocery stores, knocking on doors and IDing voters.
I recommend for someone in a city that isn’t as dense and metropolis as NYC, to attend
the annual lobby days hosted by the Humane Society. I believe The Humane Society has
political operations in every state. It is a great way to start your involvement politically
because while you are there, you learn how to hold a meeting with your elected official.

I think 90% of what you learn in politics and advocacy is in the field. The professionals
that you work with are the best teachers rather than in the classroom.
How was NYCLASS created?
Back in 2008 a husband and wife, who lived in the Upper West Side along Central Park –
equestrians their entire lives – were tired of seeing the carriage horses day in and day
out. So they came up with a concept that was different from the past 20 years of
activists trying to ban the industry or just restrict confinement to Central Park. The
solutions that some of the past groups had come up with were not getting traction. For
one, trying to completely ban an industry is very hard, especially when that industry is
enjoyed and seen by the public and involves jobs. So the husband and wife team came
up with the idea of replacing the horses with the 1950’s vintage electric cars. This way
you would have an alternative and you protect yourself from the argument that people
would lose their jobs. The city would continue to generate revenue and you would have
a way to retire the horses humanely at sanctuaries.
With a coalition of organizations including The Humane Society, ASPCA and PETA, who
all agreed that the electric cars were the best route to getting the horses off the street,
they then had to find a legislator on city council who would be brave enough to sponsor
a bill. This step took at least a year.
With a mission to remove carriage horses from the street, where did the name New York for
Clean, Livable and Safe Streets come from?
Early on in the process the couple hired a consulting service to advise on government
relations, since they were new to the field. The consulting agency advised the couple
not to make the issue about animals but to make it about clean livable and safe streets
which is where the name NYCLASS came from. The organization soon found out that
people were more interested in talking about animals than the odor and manure on the
street. One lesson that the couple learned early on was that not all advice from experts
is correct

Joe Whelski:
Joe Whelski is on his way to making waves with his one-of-a-kind comedic PSAs, Public Service
Announcements, for wildlife conservation. Up until about 3 years ago, Joe would have
considered himself a ‘wannabe advocate’ for wildlife conservation. Now, in conjunction with his
successful career in web design, graphic design and acting, Joe spends much of his time
networking with the leading scientist and conservationists as an advocate/activist writing and
producing PSAs for wildlife conservation.
I remember maybe six or seven years ago on a train from Princeton, NJ reading about
elephants disappearing in Africa and thinking why am I not doing something about that
and why am I on a train going to an acting audition today. I didn’t have a reason for why
I didn’t start advocating right then. I started to write scripts that could maybe be the
Joe Whelski
Born: PA
Resides: NYC
Age: 30’s
Degree: BFA in Communication Design; Certificate in Web Design; Graduate of the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts;
Occupation: Web and Graphic Designer, Actor, Writer and Film-maker
Influential People: Jane Goodall, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Jamie Pollack
“You realize you want things to change but you are waiting for other people to do it and it
doesn’t happen. And then you realize that I do have a lot of power”
“Find the things that matter to you and start giving them more of a priority”
“It’s the moment of why am I not doing something about this and why am I going to this
audition”

foundation for PSAs, Public Service Announcements, but I didn’t think to do anything
with them until three years ago.
Three years ago, my ‘aha’ happened while walking in my neighbored, when I found
thousands of dead bees all over the block. Nobody was looking at them but everyone
was just walking all over them. The dead bees were by a housing complex so I thought
the housing complex had just sprayed an insecticide and that infuriated me even more.
It bothered me that all these bees were dead and nobody cared. That was the point for
me when I decided that I was going to have to start doing something because nobody
else was.
Looking back six years ago, why do you think you were not ready to turn your passion into
action?
I felt powerless and that there was nothing I could actually do because the problem was
so big. What would it matter if I got involved?
I think in life – and I have found this as I get older – you realize you want things to
change but you are waiting for other people to do it and it doesn’t happen. And then
you realize that I do have a lot of power because I have done a lot in my life – everybody
has – and if I just shifted that energy and power over to something I believed in, I could
start making a difference. So I began using my skills, time and money to make a
difference.
What were your strategies to get your PSAs in the door?
What I did was leverage what I had. I had a youtube celebrity, Lauren Francesca, who
wanted to do something for animal conservation, and I had a tiger script. So that was
my first connection to an audience and that was my one piece in place. Once I got that
first video uploaded to youtube, it got 65,000 hits. I then said to myself, “Now I can
approach animal groups, I can network with them and show them the PSA.” That is how
I met Jamie Pollack from Shark Angles and was asked to do a PSA for them.

Once I met Jamie, she introduced me to other groups in the city and I realized that there
is a whole community in New York City with so many things that you can do at any level
that you want to start at. One thing I have learned is that you have to have patience
because it wasn’t until eight months later that we actually started working.
Did you ever feel as though you need more scientific education or technical information to be a
more effective activist/advocate for wildlife conservation?
Scientific: yes and no. You definitely need to be educated on the subject you are
advocating for but the amount of additional education is dependent upon your desired
level of involvement. If you want to make a career of it, than you might think about
higher education. But for me, I was already a trained actor and film maker so all I had to
do was compliment that with the knowledge of wildlife issues.
When putting out a PSA, I can’t say inaccurate things so for resources on the specific
issues I knew I could contact the people that I had met through networking.
I think ultimately, humanity does prevail (chuckle). We may be in a dark age in any given
time in history but if people keep fighting the fight eventually things will turn and I think
we have seen that throughout history. There have been many conservation success
stories over the years where animals were depleted down to very low numbers and
have bounced back, so we know it’s possible. But I mean you have to be an optimist in
this because if you are not, they are dead.
How did you push through your biggest struggle as an advocate/activist?
One of my biggest struggles was letting go of money. I financed most of the original
PSAs using my savings. That money was my cushion money for when something
unexpected happened but I decided that cushion money wasn’t doing any good. So I
thought if I used that money it could start to bring about the change that I wanted to
see and it could change my life as well.

What insights and inspirations did you gain along the way that you would like to pass on to
those interested but uninvolved?
I would say, find what’s important in your life. Find the things that matter to you and
start giving them more of a priority. That is simply how I made my adjustment.
I think for most people it’s that moment within yourself. It’s not meeting somebody and
them saying, “oh hey, you should do this.” But it’s the moment of why am I not doing
something about this and why am I going to this audition?

Maren Lange:
Maren Lange, like many of us in our mid-20’s and 30’s, is trying to figure out how to pursue her
passion and interests while entering into a work force that has not caught up. She currently
works in Business Development at Sotheby’s while juggling volunteer positions at a variety of
organizations. She has Bachelor’s in Classics and French and a Master’s in International
Relations and Economics. Her long-term goal is “to do something that is at the nexus of human
rights, animal rights, and environmental preservation because I think they are interrelated. But
right now I am figuring out what to do right now.”
In my Master’s program I took a course on wildlife conservation in 2011 with a professor
Maren Lange
Born: NYC
Resides: NYC
Age: 31
Degree: Bachelor’s in Classics and French; Master’s in International Relations and Economics
Occupation: Business Development at Sotheby’s
Influential People: Ian Redmond, Iain Douglas-Hamilton
“Maybe you like Gorilla’s or want to do something about soil erosion, whatever it is, you just
say I am going to get involved and meet the people I want to talk to and just go for it”
“I think you actually need people who do not have scientific degrees to get a larger audience
for these issues. A liaison to bridge the gap would always be useful”
“My biggest barrier was lack of information. Prior to the wildlife conservation course in my
Master’s program, I was just an animal lover”

who studied African bush meat and her husband worked with the Fish and Wildlife
Services. The whole class was an awakening of ‘Oh My Gosh’ this a huge issue that
rarely gets enough attention and funding. In class we wrote advocacy campaigns and
policy recommendations and I thought this would be nice to continue so I went on
craigslist and job/volunteer searched for something related to wildlife and conservation.
I found the film festival where I met you and so many other people and organizations
The films were amazingly educational and inspirational and I soon realized how
important and marginalized this issue was and unfortunately still is. It is even more
unfortunate because the people who are doing these events have really great ideas
about making the world a better place.
Since, I am still new to the world of animal advocacy, right now I am figuring out what to
do next. I am talking to a bunch of different organizations like EcoHealth Alliance and I
am a member of a few organizations that are UN, United Nations, related. One is United
Nations Association of New York who focus on Latin American affairs and since that is a
big region for wildlife conservation, I am talking with them about maybe doing some
kind of event in May or June to raise awareness about biodiversity preservation and
ecotourism.
What were your strategies to get your foot in the door with some of these organizations like the
UN and EcoHealth Alliance?
I interned at the Permanent Mission of Belize to the United Nation for two sessions prior
to getting my Maters in International Relations and Economics. That internship inspired
me to pursue my Masters. I came across EcoHealth Alliance through talking with
someone at an event who was a member of their young professional’s council.
Did you ever feel as though you need more scientific education or technical information to be a
more effective activist/advocate for wildlife conservation?
That is such a good question! I think if I wanted to speak about the specifics and the nit
and gritty details, then yes, but since I am not going to or probably ever really do that, I

don’t think I’ll need it. I was at an event where the panelists were all distinguished
scientists and they said that it was very difficult for them to reach out to people because
they think so scientifically. So I think you actually need people who do not have scientific
degrees to get a larger audience for these issues. A liaison to bridge the gap would be
useful.
There is soo much negativity! What keeps me positive is mostly the amazing people that
I met and that the animals are absolutely mesmerizing and it would be a horrible
horrible world without them. People need to recognize that fact.
It is also hard because change is very slow. You go to these events and you see twenty
people and, at first, you think that is a big number but it is really sad because you think
there should be hundreds of people. So that is challenging. And then when you think
about the laws which take forever to be signed and even longer to be implemented.
..well not all the animals have that kind of time to spare.
How did you push through your biggest struggle as an advocate/activist?
My biggest barrier was lack of information. Prior to the wildlife conservation course in
my Master’s program, I was just an animal lover.
Now, I think it is being confident and talking to my friends about it since they are not
animal conservationists types and are into totally separate things, which is fine but I
think I had to sort of get over thinking that people would think I was some kind of
hippie.
One last thing is that just because you really like animals and you are always with them
in some respect, whether you had pets as a kid or road horses as I did, it doesn’t really
mean that you understand the world of animal advocacy. It is sometimes viewed as a
marginalized super niche field and that if you join you will be with PETA throwing paint
on fur and what not. So I am learning that is a lot broader than just PETA, The Humane
Society, and ASPCA.

What insights and inspirations did you gain along the way that you would like to pass on to
those interested but uninvolved?
I would tell them that they might not think this affects them but it affects every single
person on this planet in some way. Even if you don’t care if elephants go extinct, they
are a keystone species in this world. If Africa is affected, you will eventually be affected.
This world is too interconnected and our ecosystems are interdependent.
How do you recommend the interested but uninvolved to get involved within their community?
The internet is great way to connect with people all over the world to share ideas and
thoughts about these issues. You can follow people and organizations on Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites to keep up to date on conversations and
policies. Also, like what I did, search for organizations to volunteer with and join their
young professional councils. Everyone that I have met is very nice and eager to talk. So
you just need to decided what is it you want to do. Maybe you like Gorilla’s or want to
do something about soil erosion, whatever it is, you just say ‘I am going to get involved
and meet the people I want to talk to and just go for it’.
All of these people have come together through different journeys to pursue their
passion for wildlife conservation and to see a change in the world. Some began their
involvement because of an inner voice and feeling while others began because the opportunity
or issue fell into their lap. No matter what brought them in the same room their strategies to
turned their passion into action are very similar as described below.
Strategies to turn Passion into Action
While discussing the strategies to turn passion into action in detail, I reference back to
how each of the six advocates demonstrated the strategies.
1. The Aha moment: This is the moment, mentioned in most of the interviews, when you
realize whatever was stopping you and prohibiting you from taking action. Whether it was
an internal feeling of self-doubt or powerlessness to make any impact on the issue or you
have a realization of the existence and urgency of the issue. Whichever it was or if it was

something completely different, it doesn’t matter what triggered you, it is the fact that you
made a conscious realization and decision to make a positive change. From that moment on
you will never think the same way.
2. Identify level of involvement and your skills: Your level of involvement is dependent upon
your current commitments, either full or part time work or school. The desired level of
involvement will help guide the skills you are able to contribute beyond financial donations.
If you work in PR or marketing, you could assist or manage an event for an organization. If
you are in web or graphic design, you could assist with or manage a website. If you are a
writer or interested in a specific issue, you could submit an op-ed piece or an interview to a
news outlet. Lastly, anyone can call or write their elected officials.
3. Actualize and Capitalize your network: While you are assessing your desired level of
involvement and your contributable skills, there are many ways you can begin to reach out
and interact with organizations. You can: attend events to network with people or follow
people and organizations that share a similar passion on Facebook, twitter, meetup.com,
and other social media outlets. Networking with people who have similar interests is
paramount. This will open doors to new information and further connect you to other
people making an impact. You will begin to feel part of a community working towards a
positive and influential change.
4. Stay Positive, Push Through, and Be Conscious of the Burn Out Factor: The reason we are
or want to become advocates and activists is because we believe something needs to
change for the better. The more involved you get the more you will find that the
information is horrific and the images are scarring. Staying positive and pushing through
your gut reaction to turn away and feel helpless is paramount but you also need to take
care of yourself. Take a break and retreat as often as you need in order for you to return
refreshed, revitalized, and ready to push further. The burn out factor is a result of no
personal time or breaks to recollect yourself. It brings about a negative, angry and almost
helpless feeling. It is the point where some people give up because they are drowned in the
issue’s negativity.

It is not enough to be informed – it is crucial that you get involved, in whatever way
possible. And as these six people have illustrated it doesn’t matter how, it only matters that you
try to do something.

Sources:
Goodall, J. (2009). Hope for Animals and Their World. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing.
Saunders, S. D. (2003). The Emerging Field of Conservation Psychology. Human Ecology Review,
10 (2), 137-149
Jepson, J. & Ladle, R. (2010). Conservation: A Beginner’s Guide, New York, NY: Oneworld
Publishing.
Scardina, J. & Flocken, F. (2012). Wildlife Heroes: 40 Leading Conservationists and the Animals
They are Committed to Saving, Philadelphia, PA Running Press.
Switzer, J. V. (2003). Environmental Activism, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc.
Malnor, C. L, & Malnor, B. (2010). Earth Heroes: Champions of Wild Animals: Nevada City, CA:
Dawn Publications.

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