“For me, education is about the world I am building . . . and that world is a place of liberation for everyone, including non-human animals.”
Dana McPhall has over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit and government sectors. In 2015, Dana graduated from the joint Valparaiso University/IHE Master of Education-Humane Education program, and she also has a Juris Doctorate and a Master of Public Policy. Early on in her career, Dana worked to protect and to seek justice for low-income women and children exposed to domestic violence and for animals suffering from cruelty and neglect. More recently, Dana has dedicated herself to exploring the intersection of humane education and racial justice, particularly the link between race and animality, and to teaching educators, advocates, and parents about the intertwined systemic roots of anti-Black racism and animal exploitation. Three years ago, Dana joined IHE’s faculty at Antioch University, and started facilitating a self-designed course called Race, Intersectionality and Veganism. Dana also chairs a working group of IHE staff and alumni dedicated to integrating racial justice issues more deeply into the field of humane education. In addition, Dana has taught two of the core courses in IHE’s graduate program, Human Rights and Environmental Ethics.
Additionally, Dana is the author of “What I’ve Learned by Applying an Antiracist Framework to My Animal Advocacy,” which was published in 2020 by Sentient Media and included in the recent book AntiRacism in Animal Advocacy: Igniting Cultural Transformation. Moreover, in the past couple of years, Dana has led educational programs designed to support educators and advocates in making connections between interrelated issues of social justice within the U.S. food system and taking social action to move the U.S. towards a more just and sustainable food system.
