Mission Statement

Support Vegans in the Prison System is a volunteer based group working to help vegan individuals live a healthy vegan lifestyle, which is an expression of their deeply held ethical values. We act as a crucial link between the incarcerated community and the Bureau of Prisons, provide information about veganism to the prison population, and work for formal recognition of veganism as a protected ethical position within the Bureau of Prisons. Support Vegans in the Prison System does not maintain lists of prisoners names or addresses, nor does the work of the organization to support individuals in their ethical veganism while incarcerated consitute endorsement of their characters or activities.

Board of Directors
Dallas
Dallas Rising [President]

Dallas Rising is a professional certified coach, a writer, and facilitator with experience and qualifications in non-profit grassroots campaign coordination and management and is currently the Program Director for the Animal Rights Coalition. She has a long history of involvement in social action, with extensive experience promoting a vegan lifestyle and animal liberation. Her own focus on living life with the goal of making a difference led her naturally to the work of coaching others who were striving to do the same. She was certified upon completeion of the Certified Coach Program through Coach Training Alliance. Dallas spent six years as a Volunteer Manager for Compassionate Action for Animals and she has coached Americorps Promisefellows through the AmeriCoach Program. She has led a vegan lifestyle for more than 12 years and lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two mischievous dogs and a demanding cat, all rescued.

Aaron
Aaron Zellhoefer [Treasurer]

Animal and Environmental activist Aaron Zellhoefer began his involvement in the environmental and animal rights movements in the mid-1990s, and by the end of the decade found himself campaigning against Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) with the animal rights group Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. After the SHAC-7 conviction, Aaron worked on Kevin Kjonaas support committee. He has given talks in Toronto, London, Basel, Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Washington DC and Philadelphia. He has appeared in the Contra Costra Time, the Toronto Star, No Compromise magazine, and most recently Hustler magazine, talking about the SHAC 7 case. The Toronto Star called him, "George Bush's worst nightmare".

Board of Advisors
Ryan
Ryan Andrews [Nutritionist]

Ryan Andrews is a dietitian and strength/conditioning specialist. He has worked with groups such as the Vegetarian Resource Group, EarthSave, Light Gives Heat, Organic Athlete and The Healthy Food Bank. He is currently Director of Research for Precision Nutrition. Ryan trained and worked at The Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center, one of the most recognized and awarded research institutions in the world. Throughout his time in undergraduate and graduate school, Ryan was trained in Exercise Physiology, Nutrition, and Dietetics. He has done numerous presentations and written hundreds of articles about nutrition, exercise and health.

Colleen
Colleen Patrick-Goudreau [Meal Planner]

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau is the founder of Compassionate Cooks, an organization whose mission it is to empower people to make informed food choices and to debunk myths about veganism. A recognized expert on healthful plant-based cuisine, Colleen has appeared on the Food Network and is a columnist for VegNews magazine. She lives in Oakland, CA with her human hubby and feline boys.

As a meal planner, Colleen works with Support VIPS and the BOP to develop healthy, humane meal plans for prisoners seeking vegan options.

Brandon
Brandon Noard [Tech Support]

Brandon Noard is a long time vegan, active in the local community since the mid 1990s. He worked with Minneapolis first based college animal rights group Students Organization for Animal Rights (SOAR).
Brandon received his BS in computer science from the U of M. He works for a start up Wiki support site.