In 2016, I was a graduate student at Canisius University working on my master’s degree in anthrozoology, the study of the relationships and interactions between humans and other animals. One semester, I had the opportunity to take a class on humane education. To be honest, I was a little unsure about it. I had heard about humane education through my work with animal shelters, and I associated it primarily with teaching children to be kind to companion animals. While I believed this was a worthy endeavor, I knew I wanted to do deeper work with adults. However, the course description intrigued me, so I decided to take a chance. I am so glad I did because it truly changed the course of my life.
As part of the class, taught by humane educator Dr. Sheryl Pierre, we read The Power and Promise of Humane Education by Zoe Weil and watched her TEDx Talk, “The World Becomes What You Teach.” My way of thinking about education and our world began to transform.
As an anthrozoology student, I was already committed to understanding and improving the relationships between humans and other animals. But learning about comprehensive humane education made me rethink what was possible. It redefined my concept of education from traditional schooling to something far more expansive: a practice of fostering justice, compassion, and care for our shared world.
As an anthrozoology student, I was already committed to understanding and improving the relationships between humans and other animals. But learning about comprehensive humane education made me rethink what was possible. It redefined my concept of education from traditional schooling to something far more expansive: a practice of fostering justice, compassion, and care for our shared world.
Through Zoe’s work and the humane education course, I began to see connections I hadn’t fully recognized before. I started to understand how animal protection issues are inextricably intertwined with social justice and environmental issues impacting humans and ecosystems. This realization revealed the systemic nature of the problems I cared about and helped me see that meaningful change required examining them from a systems point of view.
For example, one issue I explored during my master’s program was companion animal relinquishment to shelters. On the surface, it might seem like individual guardians were to blame for “surrendering” their companion animals. However, I learned that a humane education approach is one where education itself is a vital part of the solution. We can’t solve problems we aren’t aware of. Changemaking that’s fueled by comprehensive humane education begins with learning and educating about the problem and the systems that support it. When investigating companion animal relinquishment more deeply, I discovered that housing restrictions, economic and racial inequities, and limited access to veterinary and behavior care all combine to create barriers that separate interspecies families. Environmental factors, such as natural disasters or rising costs linked to climate change (e.g., the greater and longer prevalence of ticks that now require year-round tick prevention medication), can also make guardianship unsustainable.
I was surprised to uncover that even animal shelters themselves might unintentionally perpetuate these problems through certain policies and practices, such as requiring guardians to pay for a license, current vaccinations, and other fees to reclaim lost companion animals.
Also central to humane education is using what we learn to identify and implement changes that address systemic causes. So, for my shelter work, this meant advocating for affordable pet-friendly housing; affordable veterinary and behavior services; and culturally-responsive, equity-centered community support, such as offering resources and programming in multiple languages and providing transportation or remote support for guardians. The goal is not only to help individuals but to transform the systems that create vulnerability in the first place. I realized that humane education can play an essential role in this work by cultivating the compassion as well as the critical and systems thinking needed to address these problems. This was revolutionary for me as someone studying anthrozoology. My work could extend beyond helping specific animals to inspiring broader shifts in how we care for each other and the planet we share.
The goal is not only to help individuals but to transform the systems that create vulnerability in the first place. I realized that humane education can play an essential role in this work by cultivating the compassion as well as the critical and systems thinking needed to address these problems.
In January 2017, Zoe visited the Canisius campus to give a talk. I was thrilled to be able to attend. I vividly remember being moved by her passion and vision. I wanted to have that kind of impact. I wanted to be a humane educator.
While I continued my path to becoming an anthrozoologist, something was quietly stirring inside me. That initial spark of inspiration from Zoe’s work didn’t fade; it burned brighter. I kept returning to the same question: How can I do more?
After graduating, I worked as a dog trainer and behavior consultant and taught in various settings about animal behavior and welfare. I also co-founded the Humane Alliance of Rescue Trainers, a nonprofit that connects shelters and rescues with behavior support to increase the chances of successful adoption and help keep dogs and cats in their homes. But over time, I felt limited by this work. While I was helping dogs and their caregivers, I longed to address the beliefs, practices, and systems shaping our relationships with other beings and the natural world.
The pull toward humane education felt like a calling to become more intentional and effective and to align my work more closely with my values. I realized that I needed a deeper understanding of education itself and how to teach and inspire others in order to broaden my impact.
The pull toward humane education felt like a calling to become more intentional and effective and to align my work more closely with my values. I realized that I needed a deeper understanding of education itself and how to teach and inspire others in order to broaden my impact. That’s when I discovered the Institute for Humane Education’s partnership with Antioch University, offering an Ed.D. in Educational and Professional Practice with a specialization in Humane Education. I immediately knew that this was what I had been searching for. This was my opportunity to transform my passion and practical experience into something even more impactful: the ability to educate and empower others to become changemakers themselves.
When I first started the Ed.D. program, I envisioned my dissertation would center on creating an adult humane education program specifically for companion animal professionals. I had spent over a decade helping other animals through work in veterinary clinics, shelters, and other settings, and I wanted to support professionals in providing and teaching about science-based, humane care. However, as I progressed through the program, my perspectives and passions shifted.
The doctoral program’s emphasis on social justice, antiracism, and systemic oppression requires a different way of perceiving and being in the world. The faculty, who bring decades of trailblazing work in humane education, social justice, and transformative learning, had a strong influence on how I approached my work. They aren’t just academics but practitioners and activists, exemplifying the empathy, critical thinking, and commitments to justice that humane education seeks to inspire. Every interaction with them felt like an invitation to think more deeply and question more boldly.
My fellow students were equally inspiring. I learned alongside educators exploring humane education in classrooms, its role in curriculum design, and how it can help shift nonhuman narratives and confront speciesist language. Together, we questioned the normative practices within our classrooms, communities, and societal systems and supported each other’s visions for a better world. Through these relationships, the critically reflective coursework, and my deeper engagement with questions of liberation and justice, I began to see my work within a much wider context.
The transformation I experienced was both intellectual and personal. After years as a vegetarian, I transitioned to veganism as I learned more about the suffering of farmed animals and the far-reaching consequences of animal agriculture on humans and ecosystems. I started visiting and volunteering at farmed animal sanctuaries and discovered the powerful potential of sanctuary-based education to raise awareness, inspire empathy, and create systemic change. My dissertation evolved from focusing on companion animal professionals to developing a guide for sanctuary educators on centering farmed animal agency, consent, and well-being.
Looking back, my evolution represents the very essence of comprehensive humane education: expanding our circles of compassion, questioning our assumptions, and reimagining what’s possible. The doctoral program did more than increase my knowledge. It transformed how I understand and embody my role as an educator and advocate for all beings.
Looking back, my evolution represents the very essence of comprehensive humane education: expanding our circles of compassion, questioning our assumptions, and reimagining what’s possible. The doctoral program did more than increase my knowledge. It transformed how I understand and embody my role as an educator and advocate for all beings.
In the spring of 2024, I graduated with my Ed.D. with a specialization in Humane Education. Today, I work alongside the very people who inspired me at both IHE and Canisius University. I’m reminded daily that my journey is far from over; the work is never finished. It’s a continuous practice of questioning, learning, and growing. And perhaps that’s the real power and promise of humane education: it doesn’t give us the answers, it equips us with the courage to keep asking better questions and the compassion to act on what we discover. And in doing so, transformation becomes not just possible, but inevitable.
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Curious how studying humane education could transform your thinking and the work that you do? Learn more about the Graduate Programs in Humane Education and read more interviews and reflections from alumni.