San Diego Vegan Festival

Carly Morales is the founder and treasurer of Vegan in San Diego — host of San Diego Vegan Festival and the monthly First Friday Night Market. Carly was inspired to go vegan in 2013–after five years of vegetarianism–after viewing the documentary Vegucated (produced by Demetrius Bagley!). Today she acts as the event coordinator for this nonprofit, pushing all the necessary paperwork through to make the event magic happen. Are vegan events an effective method of advocating for the vegan lifestyle? We’ll discuss!

Demetrius Bagley is one of the award-winning movie producers of the documentary Vegucated. Besides producing public TV cooking show Vegan Mashup, he’s a nationally recognized events producer. He went vegan in 1994. His pioneering and leading made NYC Vegan EatUP one of the biggest Meetups in the world. From there he godfathered Vegan Street Fair, Vegan Travel Club, Veggie Conquest, Veggie Prom, Vegan Cookbook Club, various VegFests, and dozens of Kickstarters. These days Demetrius produces astrology media & events including the Stars on Fire podcast, groundbreaking 2020 and 2023 Queer Astrology Conferences, Black Astrology Conference 2020, and Ascendant Assemblies. A long-time astrologer, he’s been published in VIBE Magazine.

Rachel Hosler is an animal rights activist and the co-founder of San Diego’s Kind Heart Coalition, founded in 2018 with co-founder Melanie Bazzel. Kind Heart Coalition’s goal is animal liberation through kind-hearted activism and education. She has organized Animal Rights marches.

PANEL 2: THRIVING ON A VEGAN DIET

Terry Hagio is a vegan triathlete obsessed with technology. After going vegetarian at age 14 upon realizing chicken the food was the same as chicken the animal, she started a lifelong habit of using her choices to reflect her values.

Tracy Childs is a passionate healthy food advocate who fully embraced a plant-based lifestyle after first becoming vegetarian as a teen, then vegan as a young adult. She’s dedicated to spreading the message of how whole-food, plant-based eating can heal the planet, protect animals, and help us avoid needless suffering from lifestyle-related diseases. Tracy is co-founder/director and at Tracy’s Real Foods a whole-foods, plant-based company that ships healthy Goodies nationwide.  She’s a certified Nutritional Consultant and holds a Certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from eCornell. Tracy has taught nutrition and cooking for nearly two decades with her local company Veg-Appeal and also as a Food for Life Instructor, certified with the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine. Tracy is the Founder and Director of PlantDiego, a group to educate and support people in living a healthy, whole food, plant-based lifestyle. She contributed some of her favorite recipes for Handbook to Higher Health Consciousness by David Kater and “Food is Climate” by Glen Merzer; she has a brand-new book coming out on July 4th called “America Goes Vegan”, also with Glen Merzer. To reach Tracy, visit www.tracysrealfoods.com.

Dr. Derek Kwan, MD is a husband, father, anesthesiologist, and interventional pain specialist in San Diego, California. He is enthusiastic about health, wellness, and plant-based diets. When he is not at work, Dr. Kwan loves to travel and spend time with his wife and two kids

PANEL 3: LIFE AS A VEGAN ANIMAL RESCUER

Jordan Russo founded Farm Animal Refuge with Matt Lieurance in 2016. This vegan-run sanctuary rescues animals from the agricultural industry and is currently home to more than 90 rescued animals. Farm Animal Refuge places emphasis on high level animal care and vegan education and outreach. Farm Animal Refuge is located in the East County town of Campo.

Kohleun Adamson is a licensed educator with the San Diego House Rabbit Society, where she has volunteered since January 2017. She works in public health communications and considers animal rescue and veganism to be integral to healthy and just communities. Kohleun lives in Mira Mesa with her partner and three house rabbits, Anna, Elsa, and their foster friend Linus.

Hannah Shaw is a kitten rescuer, humane educator, and New York Times bestselling author who has dedicated her life to finding innovative ways to protect animals. Her project, Kitten Lady, strives to create global change in the way we perceive and treat the tiniest and most vulnerable felines. She is the co-founder of San Diego’s Orphan Kitten Club.

Jen Sale is the Founder of Sale Ranch Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit organization in Temecula that rescues farm animals in medical crises, providing them with high-level care and forever refuge. She elevates the voices of the ignored while promoting a cruelty-free lifestyle and reducing our environmental impact. In addition to its animal sanctuary, Sale Ranch grows regenerative gardens and offers Farm School workshops to spread awareness about self-sustainability. Under Jen’s dedicated leadership, Sale Ranch has become a beacon of hope for farmed animals and a community hub for all who believe in the power of kindness, regardless of species.

FILMING IN PROGRESS.
By attending this event, you consent to be photographed, filmed and/or otherwise recorded for video content. This agreement includes any minors and children in your care. Your entry constitutes your consent to such photography, filming and/or recording and to any use, in any and all media, for any purpose by Vegan in San Diego, Incorporated. Photos may be used for promotional material by Vegan in San Diego, Incorporated. If you do not wish to be on photographed or on film, please avoid cameras in this area.