About Us
The Humane Hoax Project is a collaborative effort of vegan activists, writers, and organizations who are working together to reveal the truth about “humane” animal agriculture. We host virtual educational events, including the annual Humane Hoax Online Conference and the Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar.
Key Organizers
Hope Bohanec (She/Her)
Hope Bohanec (She/Her) has been active in animal protection and environmental activism for over 30 years. She is the editor of the recently released book, The Humane Hoax: Essays Exposing the Myth of Happy Meat, Humane Dairy, and Ethical Eggs, published by Lantern Publishing and Media, and the author of the first book ever written on the subject of the Humane Hoax, The Ultimate Betrayal: Is There Happy Meat?. Hope is the Executive Director of Compassionate Living and the host of the Hope for the Animals Podcast. She co-founded the Humane Hoax Project, the Ahimsa Living Project and has organized hundreds of online and in-person events including the Humane Hoax Online Conference, the Humane Hoax Chicken Webinar, and the Sonoma County VegFest. Over the last three decades, Hope has worked for the national non-profits United Poultry Concerns and In Defense of Animals and contributed chapters to several anthologies.
Alastor Van Kleeck (They/Them)
Alastor Van Kleeck (They/Them) has a Ph.D. in English and lives with their partner, Roz, near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They spend most of their time working at the Triangle Chicken Advocates Sanctuary, which Alastor and Roz founded in 2014, and which inspired them to start The Microsanctuary Movement together later that year. Alastor has presented at the Animal Rights National Conference, the Conscious Eating Conference, and the Humane Hoax Online Summit, and have been interviewed on podcasts such as the Hope for the Animals Podcast, Our Hen House, Beyond Species, The Bearded Vegans, and others. Much of Alastor’s writing is available at strivingwithsystems.com.
Team Members
Sena Crutchley (She/Her)
Sena Crutchley (She/Her) is an associate professor and long-time animal rights and environmental activist. She is a founder and board member of Piedmont Area Vegan Educators. Sena has served on her university’s sustainability council, sharing her expertise in the ethics of food systems. Sena is a frequent speaker for the Peace Advocacy Network and her local Sierra Club and public libraries, and she is published on the topic of dismantling speciesist language. Sena founded and runs Ruby’s Refuge, a microsanctuary for chickens and fishes.
Marian Erikson (She/Her)
Marian Erikson (She/Her) is a Canadian-born and North Carolina-based voiceover artist, animal rights activist, and podcaster. After reading about the health risks with the Standard American Diet, she and her family went plant-based. While educating herself on how to cook healthy plant-based meals, she learned the truth about the horrors of animal agriculture, went vegan, and became an activist. She created the Plant Based Briefing podcast in April 2021 where she curates and narrates a variety of articles about the many reasons to be vegan, in short, 10-minute daily episodes.
Lia Wilbourn (She/Her)
Lia Wilbourn has been active in a wide range of animal rights activism since 2013, including street outreach, demonstrations, social media, writings, and speeches. She’s currently the Farmed Animals Campaign Specialist at In Defense of Animals, advocating via articles, action alerts, videos, webinars, media appearances, challenging Congress and other food system powerholders, and co-hosting a monthly online Vegan Mentor Support Group. Lia is also a member of the Humane Hoax Project Team and certified in Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University.
