Today we’d like to introduce you to Vicki Deisner
Hi Vicki, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I left the medical profession in 1989 to attend law school to gain additional skills to advocate for the environment and animals. I worked in the Ohio Attorney Generals Office doing environmental enforcement. I left to lead the Ohio Environmental Council, where I had my first experience with a statewide advocacy organization. I left to work for national organizations, finally going to DC and work on the hill for National Wildlife Federation. I came back to Ohio working for ASPCA as the Midwest Legislative Director, and saw the need for a statewide animal advocacy organization in Ohio and founded Ohio Animal Advocates (OAA).
Why OAA?
The need for a statewide organization to address animal welfare is the missing link to moving animal welfare forward in Ohio. The animal welfare movement is a young movement in comparison to other social welfare efforts. For example, the environmental movement was launched in the 1970s on a national level, but it wasn’t until state and local environmental organizations were created in the 1980s/1990s that the movement created real change on the ground. These local organizations had the ability to identify state-specific needs and network diverse parties of interest into a consolidated voice with shared goals, enabling the environmental movement to develop consensus-based solutions.
The animal welfare movement continues its work to pass animal welfare legislation through national organizations. Following the successful lead of other movements, a statewide animal welfare organization needs to exist to address the implementation of protections at a state and local level. Several other states have already formed organizations to address this need, and it was time for Ohio to do the same. Ohio Animal Advocates was created to fill this critical niche in Ohio.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It is never a smooth road if you are working to move society forward in a nonprofit situation. It is a marathon to change how society works – in this case how we treat animals. From an organizational perspective, you must build a successful organization that includes raising funds, marketing the message far and wide, and managing a team of dedicated employees. From a policy perspective, you must climb the mountain to change the hearts and minds of people to how we treat animals. We must stop the horrific conditions of wildlife raised on fur farms that are killed for profit, hopefully before they are skinned. We must stop hunting wildlife for the purpose of killing vs. wildlife management, as wildlife killing contests grow in popularity and running over wildlife with a snowmobile till they are dead is acceptable. We must stop farm animals from being raised in factory farms where chickens are raised in battery cages, pigs in gestation crates, and male calves in veal crates – with no space to move jammed in together there entire life – waiting to die a horrific death. To keep these farm animals alive till they go to slaughter, they are feed 80% of the nations antibiotics – because they are not healthy. Yet the public is eating them. And when avian flu breaks out, entire flocks of chicken – 15.5 million in Ohio – are ‘depopulated’ by turning off the ventilation and raising the heat so they slowly bake and suffocate to death. We must stop producing more dogs and cats then there are families to take them. Ohio has an overpopulation of companion animals as we are the 2nd worst in the nation for puppy mills – factory farms for puppies that often have congenital health problems but are bought for hundreds, even thousands by families that wanted a dog for life and often get a sick dog for a short time. We must stop the torment and killing of companion animals in domestic violence situations, an attempted control of a victim by an abuser. Indeed, in child and elder abuse, domestic and family violence, school and mass shootings – animals are the first victims and the red flag that there will be escalation of violence. Animal cruelty is like the Wizard behind the curtain – hiding the cruelty. We have a lot of work to do in Ohio – but when I came back to Ohio in 2012 we were ranked 45th in the nation by the Animal Legal Defense Fund for animal protection laws. In 2024 we were ranked 19th. We have made improvements for animals.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an attorney working as a lobbyist and nonprofit manager now. I am proud of the fact I had the courage to switch careers midstream and follow my passion to make a difference for animals and the environment. I was given a book called ‘Seal Song’, written by Brian Davis with International Fund for Animal Welfare when I was in graduate school. The true story of seal pups being clubbed to death on the ice haunted me for years and as time went on, I became a weekend activist. I went to law school to gain additional skills, and when I graduated, a family friend sent me on a trip to see the seal pups on the ice and the movement to save them. This felt like karma and that I had made the right decision to change paths.
I started out with the Ohio Attorney General as an assistant AG doing environmental prosecution. But it did not feel like I was moving the needle regarding changing the culture. I became director of Ohio Environmental Council where I was introduced to advocacy and the operations of a nonprofit, and also found out the organization was in monetary trouble. It was a shock – I had never fundraised. But it was either figure it out or leave where I had worked so hard to get to. So I did – and grew the organization to a million dollar budget, added 15 staff, and developed a reputable lobbying presence, program work, and a law clinic that was making change in Ohio. However, I felt the urge to make a difference in a bigger way so I jumped at the opportunity to go to DC and work on a national level for National Wildlife Federation (NWF). I thought this was as close to combining animal and environmental work as I would get – considering there did not seem to be paid animal advocates. I thought that the animal work I really wanted to do would have to wait until I retired and volunteered. What I found out in DC was the animal advocacy movement was growing. When I heard that California had passed a ballot initiative for Livestock Care Standards – I knew the tide had changed and that it was time to move over to the animal welfare world. I applied to a number of national organizations and found a job working for the ASPCA that would bring me back to Ohio and the Midwest working as an animal advocate. Being at the state level working for a national organization – I saw the need to have a statewide animal advocacy group in Ohio as there were in a few other states. I was able to pull from my previous experience and knew that to really make the difference in animal welfare – it had to happen from both a national and state/local level. It seemed with my background – I could be that person to make it happen. OAA became an official animal welfare nonprofit in 2018. I am proud I made the changes I did and pushed through the tough times to make it happen. I am known as a change agent and making a difference, and that set me apart from many who do not take the leap to follow their dreams.
OAA provides statewide resource lists for pet food pantries, low-cost spay-neuter, trap/neuter/release, safe havens for animals to escape domestic violence, where to report cruelty, wildlife rehabbers, and companion animal veterinarians. We work on adequate shelter for animals, breed discrimination, climate change impacted by agriculture, community cats, cosmetics testing on animals, dissection alternatives, exotic animals, housing financial challenged families with pets, the Ohio Spay/Neuter Connection, pet protection for animals in family violence, puppy mills, and wildlife protection through legislative and grassroot efforts, education and programs. OAA is Ohio’s Voice for animals.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see the world of animal welfare changing, as the environmental movement did, to growing from just being at the national level to being on a state and local level. That is why I also gathered other state animal organizations together to form the Coalition of State Animal Advocacy Organizations. Being on the ground in a state assures that the issues that are important to the people and their animals – that they own or care about – will be addressed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ohioanimaladvocates.org
- Instagram: OhioAnimalAdvocates
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OhioAnimalAdvocatesOAA/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohio-animal-advocates
- Other: threads@ohioanimaladvocates
