Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P.) now operates as a collective model, you can learn more here.
Team Members
Jordan Halliday (he/they) is the web and database team member at F.E.P. Jordan became a full-time team member in 2024 after years of contributing part-time to F.E.P., focusing on graphic design, website development, and app development. A long-time vegan and activist, Jordan brings over a decade of professional award-winning experience in graphic design and web development. They have a strong technical background in computer science for web programming from Harvard University, complemented by creative expertise in media design technology from Salt Lake Community College, in addition to numerous other professional certifications and awards. In their spare time, Jordan enjoys art, learning, and playing video games. They share their life with their best friend and wife, Mariana, and their four kids (three cats and one human).
Kennedy Little (she, her, hers) is F.E.P.’s youth advocacy team member. She is from Lexington, Kentucky, and is an undergraduate student at Morehead State University, where she is pursuing pre-law and agribusiness with a minor in public administration. After going vegan in 2019, Kennedy began to use her background in agricultural organizations to help change the unethical norms many agricultural workers face. She has worked with youth-centered organizations to push inclusive, culturally diverse, and climate-friendly foods into public school cafeterias and has spoken with Congress members and the USDA on this successful initiative. She is also the founder and president of an environmental organization at her university that focuses on environmental and animal justice through an intersectional lens.
Tyra Willis (she, her, hers) is the communications team member at F.E.P. and is from Sacramento, California. She studied political journalism at Sacramento State University. Her passion lies in advocating for total liberation and addressing food insecurity both statewide and globally. In her free time, she loves watching movies with her dog and whale watching at the beach.
Our Board Members
 | Elise Ferguson (she, her, hers) graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geography from California State University, Stanislaus, with a minor in environmental and resource studies and received a law degree from John F. Kennedy University. Elise is passionate about environmental justice and the fair treatment of animals. This passion can be seen by her involvement in public interest work and volunteering with organizations focused on these areas. In her free time, Elise enjoys cooking new veg-e-pes, wine tasting, jogging with her nonhuman companion, Jimi, and writing about issues she finds inspiring. |
 | María Muñoz Contreras (they, them / she, her) is a passionate advocate for vegan food justice and has been supporting Food Empowerment Project in various volunteer capacities since 2016. Hailing from Detroit and with familial roots in Guadalajara, María has over two decades of activism experience spanning animal liberation, LGBTQ rights, sexual assault, and other social justice issues. With more than 15 years of experience in both nonprofit and small business operations, they bring expertise in finance, human resources, information technology, and facilities management to the board. María holds a business degree from the University of Washington and spends their free time doting on their dog Suki and their cat Jane, and reading latinx or queer authors for one of their many book clubs. |
 | Sharanya Krishna Prasad (she, her, hers) has worked in the nonprofit sector or in nonprofit-adjacent consulting roles for nearly two decades. She has led programs, marketing and communications, digital advocacy, and fundraising. Previously, Sharanya served as the executive director of Food Empowerment Project and on the board of Indians for Civic Action. She was also a podcast producer and host who was a lifelong vegetarian before she became vegan in 2007. |
 | Sheila Donya Kouhkan (she, her, hers) is a lifelong animal lover with more than two decades of experience in animal advocacy and human and animal well-being. The daughter of two Iranian revolutionary activists, she strives to be an agent for good. Her passion for animal rights began with adopting a vegetarian lifestyle and volunteering at her local shelter, later launching her advocacy career in 2009 while studying at UCLA and working for the City of Los Angeles. Today, as a vegan, Sheila specializes in the intersection of human and animal services and is passionate about uniting compassion and social justice. She also serves as an ethical travel advisor, helping people explore the world in ways that honor animals, cultures, and the environment. |
 | Ben Strothmann (he) / Honey LaBronx (she) is a New York City–based drag performer and social justice advocate, best known as the creator and host of the YouTube series The Vegan Drag Queen. Her one-woman drag show has toured 73 cities across five countries, raising funds for more than 100 LGBTQ+ and animal rights organizations while sparking conversations about animal liberation, racism, and queer justice. A Milwaukee native, Honey (actor, singer, playwright, and theatrical photographer Ben Strothmann) was among the eight Queer Rising activists arrested in 2011 for blocking traffic in an act of civil disobedience demanding marriage equality alongside her drag mother, Bob the Drag Queen. Today, Honey uses the magic of drag to bring together audiences who might not otherwise meet, inviting people to recognize their shared struggles and interconnected liberation while leaving them with practical ways to create change in their own communities. |
 | Joshua Adams (he/him) has over a decade of public and population health experience, including advocating for increased access to fresh, affordable food for marginalized communities. Located in Seattle, Washington, he continues to engage community members and healthcare organizations promoting nutritional education of plant based diets and increasing community adoption as a means to lessen chronic diseases and environmental impacts of factory farming. |
Our Advisory Board
Dr. A. Breeze Harper (she, her, hers) is an equity and inclusion consultant, with a focus on food justice, racial equity, and intersectional vegan frameworks. She is the creator and author of the book Sistah Vegan, and currently explores creating a future of sustainability and justice through Afrofuturism novel writing.
Aph Ko (she, her, hers) is the founder of Black Vegans Rock and author of two books on anti-racism and veganism. In 2015, Aph wrote the first article that listed 100 black vegans. She served as an associate producer for the documentary film Always in Season, which won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury award for Moral Urgency at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, VegNews magazine, and Black Youth Project.
Bina Ahmad (she/her) is a social justice attorney working in criminal defense, civil rights, international human rights and animal rights. She is an Associate Attorney with Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai, LLP, and General Counsel and co-chair of Muslims for Just Futures’ (MJF) legal network. She serves as American Muslim Bar Association’s (AMBA) Advocacy Chair, advisor to Parceo, and on Food Empowerment Project’s Advisory Board. She has worked with several Palestine advocacy organizations, including the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Al Haq, and Badil, and animal rights organizations.
Dave Williams (he, him, his) is a Licensed General Contractor, a Certified Green Builder and in 2006 he earned his Permaculture Design Certification. This pioneering science integrates technology and biological systems to lessen the impact of human waste and resource consumption on the planet. David also participates in a local community garden where he grows an assortment of vegetables, and where all surplus foods are shared with both the members and the local Alameda Food Bank. Here he is allowed to practice the Permaculture Principles of Ethics: Care for the Earth, care for people, and set limits to consumption, reproduction, and share the surplus.
jaz boler (she, her, hers) graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in sustainable development, specializing in community organizing and human and non-human animal relations and ethics. Since going vegan in 2019, jaz has been committed to advancing both human and non-human animal justice as well as vegan food systems. This has reflected in her work designing the first vegan food systems class at her college; her former vegan programs role at F.E.P.; and the creation of Raw Living Kitchen, where she pairs veganically grown produce with offering healthy vegan food to her community. jaz is a dedicated yoga practitioner, avid veganic gardener, and lover of all outdoor activities with her favorite adventure partner, her companion animal, bodhi!
Dr. Jeannine Cicco Barker (she, ella) is a licensed clinical psychologist based in Philadelphia and previously served on F.E.P.’s Board of Directors. Her psychological practice, Metztli by Dr. Jeannine Cicco Barker, centers the healing and wellness of those with marginalized identities and offers consulting and training services. She is also an award-winning educator, having taught at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice on systemic oppression and social justice movements. She has been a part of the movement for collective liberation in many ways and enters this from a decolonial foundation, honoring our interconnectedness with other animals, the Earth, and one another.
Jennifer Knapp (she, her, hers) serves as F.E.P.’s pro bono outside counsel. She is a partner at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., the premier legal advisor to technology and growth enterprises, where she practices corporate and securities law. She graduated with high honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a B.A. in sociology, and she received her law degree from U.C. Hastings, graduating magna cum laude.