Speakers

There will be one opening talk each day and a very special closing talk on Sunday by Sarah Kramer. The rest of the days will be organized by the attendees during the morning agenda-setting.

Saturday

Opening speaker: Camille Labchuck

Closing speaker: Rob Laidlaw

Sunday

Opening speaker: Lesley Fox

Closing speaker: Sarah Kramer

Sarah Kramer

Affectionately known as the “vegan queen-bee” by friends, and dubbed “The World's Coolest Vegan” by Herbivore Magazine, Sarah Kramer is the vegan godmother of all things cruelty-free.

Raised as a vegetarian in a decidedly un-veggie-friendly Saskatchewan, Sarah eventually hopped a train out west and never looked back. Today she is a fore-runner in vegan awareness, but still lives a relatively quiet and happy life in Victoria BC with her husband Gerry and their adorable dog Fergus. Together they own both Sarah's Place, a vegan curio store, and the Tattoo Zoo, a vegan friendly tattoo shop.

Sarah's vegan empire began as a simple idea; in 1998 she was low on cash, so she (and her co-author at the time Tanya Barnard) photocopied, hand-bound, and gave out a homemade indie-style zine full of recipes for friends and family one holiday season. How punk rock! They received an overwhelmingly positive response, which spurred the realization that her aims to change the world could become a reality in the most fun way: writing cookbooks!

The seed that was planted by that zine soon grew into what it is today: “the vegan bible” How It All Vegan!, Sarah's best-selling cookbook. It has sold over a quarter of a million copies worldwide, and is a popular favorite of vegans from all over. From there sprouted its sequel, The Garden of Vegan, and then a third book, La Dolce Vegan!

While traveling on various book tours, Sarah realized the problem of finding vegan food on the road still had to be addressed. How does a vegan stay healthy while traveling? Thus was born Vegan à Go-Go!, a pocket-sized, travel-friendly compilation of the most popular recipes from the first three books, plus 25 exciting new recipes. It's a fun and pocket-sized necessity for any jet-setting vegan.

Sarah's cookbooks and other projects have grown to become a staple in vegan or vegan-curious households across the globe, as they're easy to follow and are full of personality. Today she's selling books like (animal-product-free) hotcakes! How It All Vegan! won the 2003/2004 VegNews Veggie award for the Best Veg Cookbook, and Sarah also won their award for favorite cookbook author in 2005. La Dolce Vegan! received an M-Award in 2006 for “favorite book.”

Sarah is passionate in her work and notorious for her inspiring message. She has appeared on national Canadian TV shows like Canada AM. and W-5. Some of her British Columbia television appearances include New Day Live, Breakfast Television, and Go Magazine. Even Fergus, the Kramers' famous dog, has been sighted on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Sarah has spoken as a guest on numerous radio stations such as CBC, NPR, Vegan Freak Radio, and Animal Voices Radio about animal rights, food, and other vegan issues. She has also written articles for Herbivore Magazine and VegNews, and has done live cooking appearances at food festivals and vegetarian conferences throughout Canada and the United States.

In addition to being a bestselling cookbook author, Sarah is known for her impeccable taste in clothing and kitschy collectables. From living as a punk rock kid to riding a vintage Vespa scooter to her own wedding in Las Vegas, Sarah has always thought outside the box. She has “a gift for the thrift,” and can hardly pass by a yard sale or flea market without looking for her next unique possession.

In July 2011, Sarah oversaw the successful grand opening of Sarah's Place, a vegan curio shop in the heart of Victoria, BC. There you can find an amazing array of beautiful, quirky novelty items in the shop; rare vintage finds, beautiful clothing and other vegan products. You can also purchase all of Sarah's cookbooks, autographed and personalized just for you! And, yes, every item in the store is 100% vegan. Check it out online at www.govegan.net!

Her website is also a great place to contact Sarah, follow her blog, and find like-minded vegans in various forums. You can also find Sarah on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. When she's not online or working hard at her awesome store, Sarah is in the kitchen, probably wearing fabulous vegan heels and an apron, perfecting recipes for upcoming cookbooks and other projects.

Sarah's unique message is that “being vegan” is not just about food. It's not about policing what others are doing or aggressively bashing people over the head with ideals. Rather, it is a positive and compassionate lifestyle choice that each individual has to make for his or her own self. In making choices as small as buying non-leather shoes or vegan food, each person is contributing to the cause. One person can make an impact!

Sarah believes that it only takes one tiny spark to start a fire. She has a pack of matches and is ready to burn! With Sarah at the top of her game, it's hard to imagine what she could possibly do next or where things will go from here. Any ideas, Ellen?

Rob Laidlaw

Rob Laidlaw is a Chartered Biologist and the founder and Executive Director of Zoocheck Canada, a national wildlife protection charity, established in Toronto, Canada in 1984. He has been involved in a broad range of animal protection issues throughout Canada and around the world.

His work over the years has involved:

organizing, delivering and/or participating in a wide range of successful local, regional and national animal protection campaigns, including dozens of successful bylaw initiatives and regional campaigns to establish wildlife in captivity legislation, as well as campaigns to protect wildlife in the wild, including polar bears, elephants, wild horses and cormorants;
providing assistance and expert commentary to various governmental and non-governmental agencies regarding wild animals in captivity and various other animal issues in Canada and around the world, with an emphasis on North America and Southeast Asia;
organising dozens of pubic awareness and capacity building events, including local, regional, national and international lectures, workshops, seminars, conferences and rallies.

Laidlaw has also served as Project Manager and Technical Advisor for the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Chief Inspector at one of Canada’s largest urban humane societies and National Coordinator for Mobilization for Animals. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies and currently sits on the board of the Borneo Orangutan Society Canada.

Laidlaw is also the author of numerous reports, book chapters and several children's animal issue books, including Wild Animals in Captivity, On Parade, The Hidden World of Animals in Entertainment and his latest No Shelter Here, Making The World A Kinder Place for Dogs.

Camille Labchuck

Camille Labchuk is a law student and activist based in Toronto. Before attending law school, Camille managed communications for the federal Green Party, and worked as a public relations specialist with Humane Society International/Canada. She has documented the commercial seal kill on Canada’s East Coast, and has worked on campaigns against horse slaughter, puppy mills, factory farming, trophy hunting, circuses, shark finning, and other issues. Camille has also worked on countless election campaigns at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.

Camille is currently a board member of Lawyers for Animal Welfare (the country’s only animal law-focused organization), a board member of Mercy for Animals

Canada, and is the president of the University of Toronto Student Animal Legal Defense Fund. Camille also sits on the federal Green Party’s governing council, writes a weekly political column for The Hill Times newspaper, and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post Canada.

Camille intends to practice animal rights law, and has a particular interest in using the legal and political systems to advance animal protection goals. In her spare time, she enjoys vegan baking and fostering cats.

Lesley Fox

Lesley is the Executive Director for The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, an organization dedicated to ending the commercial fur trade. She is also the Vice-President of Earthsave Canada.

Lesley is a certified Humane Education Specialist through the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education (NAHEE). She is also a graduate from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Public Relations and Marketing Communications.

Passionate about a variety of social issues, Lesley has been involved in the non-profit sector for over a decade. Her achievements related to animal protection include lobbying various school boards to give students the right to refuse animal dissection, lobbying municipalities to adopt anti-trapping bylaws and she has worked with the BC Ministry of Education to have animal issues added to BC's Social Justice grade 12 course curriculum.

Lesley continues to offer students alternatives to dissection through her website Frogs Are Cool.com.

Lesley lives in Vancouver and shares her life with her feline companion, Wookie.