Jon Bockman graduated from NIU with a B.S. in Psychology in 2005, and proceeded to divide his time between working as a zookeeper at Brookfield Zoo and working as a wildlife rehabilitator, garnering experience with over 100 different species. Jon left the zoo in 2007, and currently manages the wildlife center at TAILS Humane Society during the summer and acts as Director of Operations at Oaken Acres Wildlife Center year-round. He pioneered an internship program at TAILS, providing an organized system to educate youth while giving them concrete experience. He founded Justice For Animals in late 2009, and soon elevated the group to non-profit status in 2010. Aside from organizing over twenty events in JFA’s inaugural year, he coordinates annual Walks for Farm Animals. Jon spends his free time advocating for farm animals with JFA, which includes organizing feed-ins, leafleting sessions, tabling at health fairs, PPV events, library displays, potlucks, and giving talks to college classes. Jon has distributed over 15,000 Vegan Outreach booklets to college students.

Darina Smith works as a Finance and Operations Manager of a Fortune 500 company’s division in Chicago. Alongside her career, she devotes her free time to farmed animal advocacy, by volunteering for several animal protection groups. She is a Vice President of VegFund, a global organization providing funding for vegan outreach projects. She is also an Outreach Coordinator for Mercy For Animals, organizing dozens of leafleting, tabling and other outreach events in Illinois every year. In 2009, Mercy For Animals honored Darina with the Grassroots Activist of the Year award. Additionally, Darina is one of the top leafleters in Vegan Outreach’s college outreach program, having distributed over 33,000 thought-provoking leaflets to college students in 12 states in less than 3 years. Darina is from Slovakia, and speaks multiple languages. She holds an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Mikael Nielsen began his work helping animals by joining EarthSave Chicago in 2002, working on their Conferences for Conscious Living and eventually running their volunteer and outreach program, setting up leafleting and tabling events all over Chicago. He works full time doing shipping logistics for two of the largest wind farm developers in the US. Mikael has continued to volunteer with ESC and is currently helping put on their third annual Chicago VeganMania festival as well as working with several other groups doing positive outreach to the general public on behalf of farm animals. He was Mercy For Animals 2008 Activist of the Year.

Cory Cox graduated summa cum laude in 2010 with a B.A. in English from NIU, where he was part of the University Honors program. He is currently a teacher in the English department’s First Year Composition program. He is also a full-time M.A. student studying English and American Literature. A frequent volunteer at TAILS Humane Society in Dekalb, Cory only recently made the transition to veganism within the last year. He has plenty to show for that one year – loads of volunteer time at JFA events, an impressive ability to maintain composure, and a strong willingness to learn make Cory a high-quality budding activist.