2026 SPEAKERS
Jackson Ray
Time: 12:30 pm - 12:45 pm (15 minutes) (time subject to change)
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In the past year, four previously disconnected student organizations at UW-Madison united their activism efforts through the Madison Animal Activism Movement (MAAM). In this 15-minute talk, student leader Jackson Ray will share what has made MAAM so effective and how they are working to bring together students and non-student community members alike to build a stronger, more united movement for animals in Madison.
Jackson Ray is the president of Animal Advocacy UW, a student organization seeking to facilitate students' animal activism. He helped co-found MAAM, bringing together various student organizations and is interested in how we can create more collaboration. Jackson studies philosophy and sociology and with a focus on creating social movements, effective leadership, and animal liberation.
Paul Collins
Time: 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm (45 minutes) (time subject to change)
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Curious about what goes on behind the scenes of animal advocacy and how we can create a world without animal testing? Paul Collins is here to share an incredible, firsthand story of hope and action.
As the Wisconsin State Director for Animal Wellness Action (@AnimalWellnessAction) and the Center for a Humane Economy (@centerforahumaneeconomy), Paul brings a lifetime of dedication to animal advocacy. In this powerful talk, he will share his personal experience as part of the team that removed 604 beagles from Ridglan in May and June of 2026.
From what it was like inside the facility to working directly with the dogs after their rescue, Paul will take you behind the front lines—and then shift to how we can pass critical legislation to move beyond using animals for research and drug and chemical testing.
🗣️ Session will feature a live Q&A with Paul!
As a lifelong animal advocate and Wisconsin State Director for Animal Wellness Action/Center for a Humane Economy, Paul has been vegan since 2019 and was a vegetarian the decade prior. He has been an emergency services dispatcher for almost 30 years, holds a bachelor's degree in Emergency Management, and was an Army reservist through the 1990's. Paul has played a significant role in several high-profile animal protection issues in the state of Wisconsin such as helping to stop a second wolf hunting season in 2021, being a direct on-the-ground participant in the massive Ridglan beagle rescue in May and June of 2026, and working 24/7 to further animal protections in Wisconsin and beyond. Paul is also on the board of Off the Table Farm Sanctuary and helps with various vegan events in the Madison and Milwaukee areas.
Chef Juan Umaña
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (1 hour) (time subject to change)
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Our gardens provide bounty year round, it all depends on how we look at it. Chef Juan (@venganpaka) will share recipes to cook with a variety of plants, helping rethink what our gardens and landscapes provide. Medicine, fuel, nutrients, all derived from plants that often are seen as weeds or overgrowth. Tomato leaves, squash blossoms and greens, purslane and gallant soldier, lambs quarter, elderberry, raspberry leaves, the list goes on and on.
Born in Colombia and raised in the States, Chef Juan D. Umaña has been a vegan chef for over ten years, gaining awards and accolades nationally for his plant-based cuisine. Currently residing in Madison, he has traveled the world in order to further understand food systems and the global impact these current agricultural practices are having on the environment. Founder of Vegan Pa'Ka, Juan has hyperfocused on locality, working within the seasons, and showcasing cultural and indigenous cuisines of the Americas. He sees medicine through food, both for healing ourselves and the planet.