Rory Freedman
Rory Freedman penned the #1 NY Times bestseller, Skinny Bitch. With five books on the shelves, two million copies in print, translations in twenty-two languages, two years on the NY Times bestseller list, three fitness DVDs, and past appearances on The Today Show, Ellen, Tyra, and The O’Reilly Factor, she has taken the world by storm. VegNews Magazine named Rory their first ever “Person of the Year”, but her biggest source of pride is being a vegan animal rights activist.
Rory recently released her new book for men, Skinny Bastard:A Kick in the Ass for Real Men Who Want to Stop Being Fat and Start Getting Buff.
For more information visit SkinnyBitch.net.
Dr. Michael Greger
Title: The Latest in Human Nutrition
Dr. Greger introduces an engaging new interactive quiz show format that lets us test our nutrition knowledge with some surprising outcomes. Dr. Greger has scoured the world's scholarly literature on clinical nutrition and developed this brand-new talk of the latest in cutting-edge research. Focusing on studies published just over the last year in peer-reviewed scientific nutrition journals, Dr. Greger offers practical advice on how best to feed ourselves and our families to prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic disease.
A founding member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Michael Greger, MD, is a physician, author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health issues. He has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, the International Bird Flu Summit, the National Institutes of Health, testified before Congress, and was invited as an expert witness in the defense of Oprah Winfrey in the infamous "meat defamation" trial. He is a graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine. Currently Dr. Greger serves as the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States.
Wendy Rieger Wendy Rieger is a lifelong animal lover who became a vegetarian two years ago this August thanks to the influence of Erica Meier of Compassion Over Killing, Scotlund Haisley of the Humane Society of the United States, and DJ Kim of Java Green. Wendy has been covering news in Washington for almost 30 years. She spent the last 21 years at NBC-4 where she is now anchoring the 5 o'clock news. Four years ago she created the Going Green segment that shows how easy it is to make simple changes in your life to help combat global warming and the everyday mess humans are making on the planet. Because animal agriculture is a major cause of global warming she has been weaving vegetarian stories into her Going Green reports.
One of her greatest accomplishments is getting her Irish boyfriend to scale back his meat consumption and eat tofu even when she isn't around. She lives with her two cats, Buddy and Rudy, rescued from the streets of Baltimore. She also has a vegan West Africa Peanut soup recipe that will make you weep.
Tracye McQuirterCooking Demonstration
Tracye McQuirter, M.P.H., is a public health nutritionist, speaker, writer, and 20-year vegan. She has led more than 100 seminars on vegan nutrition for such organizations as Whole Foods, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the Vegetarian Society of DC.
Through her work, Tracye has reached thousands seeking the knowledge and skills to achieve extraordinary health through better food choices.
Her upcoming book is titled By Any Greens Necessary: A Revolutionary Guide for Black Women Who Want to Get Healthy, Lose Weight, Eat Great, and Look Phat.
For more information, please visit byanygreensnecessary.com
Kenneth Williams
Title: How I Became a Vegan Bodybuilder
Kenneth G. Williams is a professional vegan bodybuilder and animal advocate. He made sports history at the 2004 Natural Olympia in Las Vegas - the most prestigious natural bodybuilding competition in the world - by finishing third out of more than 200 competitors from 37 nations and becoming America's first vegan bodybuilding champion. He is an educator on diet, sports nutrition, exercise, and the treatment of animals in modern agriculture.
Kenneth's personal story is an inspiration as his life combines success as a professional vegan athlete with a deeply rooted sense of compassion for all beings. He illustrates that animal products are not necessary to attain super-strength and exceptional health. He hosts a half-hour television program exposing animal cruelty, Undercover TV and is coordinator for In Defense of Animals' vegan campaign.
Senator Jamie Raskin
Jamie Raskin is a Democratic State Senator in Maryland representing Silver Spring and Takoma Park and is also a professor of constitutional law at American University. Elected to office in a stunning landslide upset of a 32-year incumbent in 2006, Senator Raskin has been a leading progressive voice in Annapolis and has seen many of his bills pass into law, including a statewide farm-to-schools program to get locally grown farm produce into public school kitchens and cafeterias across the state.
Senator Raskin has recieved 100% ratings from Environment Maryland and every other environmental group in the state. When asked by the Takoma Voice in January 2009 what city residents could do to promote the rescue of the Chesapeake Bay and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, Senator Raskin--a self-described "lifelong carnivore"--suggested that everyone try to be vegetarian for one week. Compassion Over Killing took the idea to the Takoma Park Council and Mayor, which proclaimed an official "Vegetarian Week" April 24-30, 2009. To the cheers of a crowd of 75 supportive constituents, Raskin gave up meat that week and has stayed vegetarian ever since.
Senator Raskin lives with his wife Sarah, Maryland’s Banking Commissioner, and their three children, Hannah, Tommy and Tabitha, in Takoma Park.
Mimi Clark
Cooking Demonstration
Mimi Clark, "Veggie Gourmet," has been teaching vegan cooking classes in VA, MD, and DC for the past 19 years. She has contributed recipes to several natural foods cookbooks, and is currently developing recipes for natural food manufacturers. Her vegan Chocolate Orange Mousse and Key Lime pies are featured at The Vegetable Garden restaurant, Rockville, MD. http://www.thevegetablegarden.com/ Mimi currently lives with her husband in Fairfax Station, VA. Their vegan-since-birth daughter attends the University of Mary Washington.
For more information about Mimi Clark, please visit her site.