In our final post before we disband, the Encompass board is offering our parting suggestions for the farmed animal protection movement. This list is by no means exhaustive or written with a prescriptive order.

The Encompass website will stay up through May 2024, so please feel free to refer back here for any resources.

The Encompass board is thrilled to announce the organizations we’ll be distributing our remaining assets to.

The Encompass board wanted to provide some insights so in this post we’ll share some of our reflections, including more about how we came to dissolve.

Encompass and APEX Advocacy are thrilled to announce the continuation of Encompass’ Global Majority Caucus for animal advocates at APEX Advocacy.

After five years of advancing racial equity in the farmed animal protection movement, Encompass’ board of directors has decided to dissolve the organization and disburse the remaining funds to animal protection organizations run by Black, Indigenous, and people of the global majority (BIPGM) and others advancing racial equity in our movement. With this action, we hope to usher in a new phase in the struggle to create a world that is equitable and hospitable to all.

After five wonderful years of growth, joy, and the profound meaning that can only come from serving in a role aligned with my heart’s most sincere purpose — to create a better world for non-humans and humans — I have decided to step aside as executive director of Encompass and move into an advisory role.

It’s been four years since we launched Encompass, and I’m immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished. Now that we’ve secured our footing in the farmed animal protection movement and have had some time to implement our initial programs, we can’t help but reflect on what’s worked and what hasn’t. As we move into 2022, we’re sharing our Strategic Plan so you can see what’s in store.

Encompass created a Talent Database to uplift the brilliance of BIPGM in our movement and connect advocates with opportunities. Our goal with the database is to support BIPGM across the globe who are interested in accessing paid staff positions, board openings, speaking opportunities, and consulting gigs.

Brialle Ringer shifts to Encompass’ caucus and social media manager to bring 100% of her brilliance to work for animals.

There’s no way around it: Talk to just about any animal advocate, and they’ll tell you they’re experiencing burnout or have in the past. The rates of burnout are higher for Black, Indigenous, and people of the global majority, because not only do we constantly carry with us the exhaustion that comes from dealing with racism, but nearly all of us experience racism in the movement as we’re advocating for animals.

We created this series to informally share our thoughts on pressing racial equity issues of our day. We call it “All Aboard!” because it takes everyone—in all of our unique positions—to make racial equity a reality. In this session, we heard from Aryenish Birdie and special guest, Paul Gorski.

Brialle Ringer joins the Encompass team as the caucus and social media manager. My identities are vast and ever evolving, but I’ll share a few that stand out as key. I identify as a biracial Black woman with a joyful and free white family on my mother’s side, and a loving, passionate Black family on my father’s side. I am queer, meaning my capacity for love isn’t bound by gender. I’m a vegan, healer, dancer, and mindfulness coach that is committed to liberation for all.

We created this series to informally share our thoughts on pressing racial equity issues of our day. We call it “All Aboard!” because it takes everyone—in all of our unique positions—to make racial equity a reality. In this session, we had special guests Shayna Rowbotham and Doris Quintanilla.

On June 17, 2019, Michelle Rojas-Soto joined the Encompass team as our Managing Director and our first hire. During this time, Michelle has been instrumental in moving Encompass forward and making our vision come to life. It’s with a heavy heart that I share today is Michelle’s last day with Encompass as a staff member.

We created this series to informally share our thoughts on pressing racial equity issues of our day. We call it “All Aboard!” because it takes everyone—in all of our unique positions—to make racial equity a reality. To start the series, we discussed the importance of leadership buy-in to this work because it’s critical in building a race equity culture.

The anxiety and angst people across the United States feel about the state of our country and the 2020 presidential election is palpable. At Encompass, we want to emphasize to animal advocates that the work to fight racism and to create a racially equitable movement is essential to our work for farmed animals.

If we plan to make strides towards dismantling speciesism, we must care about our fellow humans as we work to fight for non-human animals. It is not sufficient for white, middle/upper class people to feel comfortable in the movement while everyone else feels like they don’t belong in this cause. We must be able to encompass the whole of humanity in order to create change that is lasting.

We have been heartened to see many animal protection advocates, organizations—and even some plant-based food companies—making public statements in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, against structural racism, racial inequity, police brutality, and more. However, we need to go beyond public statements. We need to challenge the ubiquitous “stand in solidarity” trope and become proactive—not merely reactive—against systemic racism.

The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is affecting all of humanity around the globe. What is the role of the farmed animal advocacy movement at this time?

There are copious resources available to better understand race, racism, and racial dynamics today. In this post we offer a very small sampling of resources as a first step to guide your educational journey.