Meet Our Influencers
Our Influencers are an integral part of our work to move the world against animal cruelty and suffering. They are like-minded individuals who share our mission to protect animals and have committed to helping make long-term change through social media, networking, and spreading awareness of our work.
Interested in joining our Influencer community?
Amanda Grace Benitez
Amanda Grace Benitez is a Panamanian-American actress born and raised in Los Angeles. Amanda has been plant-based her entire life. In the winter of 2021, she launched her fashion line “PRAER,” a vegan clothing line made of recycled and organic materials and inspired by her Panamanian culture. Additionally, Amanda has a robust acting career, starring in movies and shows on Netflix, Hulu, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network, amongst others.
Instagram
Christina Colondres
Christina Colondres is passionate about two things more than any other: travel and nature. She‘s worked with numerous brands and tourism boards to help develop more sustainable global travel options. Christina believes in protecting our planet and advocates for green energy, sustainable lifestyle changes, and conservation projects. She uses her scientific background and gift for communications to lead social media campaigns and stakeholder engagement with numerous organizations.
Dave and Deb - The Planet D
Deb and Dave, founders of The Planet D, dedicate themselves to inspiring adventure in everyone and advocating for responsible tourism and wildlife experiences. Forbes Magazine listed The Planet D among the Top 10 Travel Influencers in the world, and the duo has garnered numerous awards for their blogging, photography, and video skills. Deb and Dave are based in Canada and work with both the World Animal Protection US and Canada offices.
Instagram
Marilyn Hucek
Marilyn Hucek is an emerging American-Chilean pop artist and singer-songwriter. To cope with her inability to visit her father during COVID-19 quarantine, Marilyn turned to songwriting and gave life to a special song she dedicated to her father--a song that soon became her debut single. Since then, Marilyn has released several singles and an EP which collectively received tens of thousands of streams on Spotify. Marilyn is passionate about health, the environment, and animals. She is an advocate for sustainable fashion and maintains a plant-based diet.
Instagram
Layla Luciano
Layla Luciano is on a mission to show the world the power of plants as a vegan athlete and herbalist in training. With 25+ years of martial arts training and a third-degree black belt in karate, Layla is known for her intense mobility and strength, hosting conditioning workouts in both her group fitness classes and with her personal clients. Layla strives to give her clients the strength and energy to be the best version of themselves to improve their mind, body, and spirit.
Instagram
Anna Maiche
Anna Maiche is an actress and animal rights and environmental activist. Growing up in the Caribbean, Anna’s love for the ocean began at a young age. Her father showed her the beauty of marine life by taking her to the ocean, pointing out all the life that surrounded them. Her mother showed her the importance of compassion towards animals by rescuing every cat or dog in distress. Anna finds incorporating sustainable practices into her life as an easy way to protect the earth. She follows a vegetarian diet and is an advocate for sustainable fashion.
Instagram
Michaela Podolsky
Michaela Podolsky grew up surrounded by fashion and makeup and was always interested in beauty and color. After battling with her insecurities for years, Michaela took it upon herself to learn everything she could about skincare. She now teaches her followers the importance of being comfortable in their own skin and overcoming their fears. She’s been featured in The Cut, Gotham, Glamour, Allure, InStyle, and many more.
Instagram
Charlise Rookwood
Charlise Rookwood is the founder of VeganSoulicious and creator and host of The Black Vegan Cooking Show. Being of Jamaican and Mauritian descent, Charlise takes pride in vegan-izing the foods she was raised eating. She has spent 20+ years in the music industry as a singer/songwriter, regularly visits schools where she teaches kids about plant-based cooking, and runs a plant-based catering company that supplies vegan baked goods to NYC cafés. Her mission is to help everyone live a healthier, cleaner life, and help communities of color eat healthy, plant-based meals without losing the flavors they enjoy.
Instagram
Jessica Salazar
Jessica Salazar is a former fashion professor and Texas State University coach, where she was a student-athlete coaching youth sports. Jessica later studied fashion with a focus on sustainability. As a vegan and animal welfare activist, Jessica coordinates vegan-friendly events that support animal shelters, local brands, and ethical goods, where a portion of the proceeds are donated to local animal rescues. Jessica has spoken at Vegan Fashion Week and San Antonio VegFest about her passion for animal welfare and cruelty-free living.
Instagram
Gayatri Sehgal
Gayatri Sehgal is moved by the wisdom of the non-human world. They facilitate wellness and resilience for activists through Yoga-based philosophy and practices, raise awareness of climate justice issues, and create advocacy content. Gayatri co-founded Haus of Liberation, an intentional community and safe space for QT/BIPOC and vegan spiritual practitioners based in dharma, sovereignty, and non-hierarchy. Gayatri believes that through a decolonial, anti-speciesist, ecofeminist lens, Yoga can reconnect us to optimism for the climate emergency rooted in compassion for all sentient beings.
Instagram
Tariq Spears
Through Tariq Spears’ zoology studies, his passion and knowledge for animal welfare expanded. Seven years ago, he transformed his lifestyle and adopted a vegan diet because he “refused to contribute to the mass suffering of animals.” When Roman, his cat of eight years, sadly passed away, Tariq looked within himself to see how deeply connected our ecosystem is to all of us--and that he had to change if he wanted a future. Tariq plans to use his zoological and business background to help elevate our mission and be a better advocate for animals.
Instagram
Candice Walker
Candice Walker is the recipe creator, photographer, and food blogger behind Proportional Plate–a food blog with a plant-based focus dedicated to sharing Persian, Jewish, and fusion recipes inspired by her mixed heritage and travels. Plus, she is a matcha tea fiend and cooks with it anytime she can! Candice has been interviewed on podcasts like the AllRecipes Homemade Podcast, and Eat Blog Talk, and has been named one of Perez Hilton’s ‘Who’s Who’ that you need to know.
Instagram
Veggie Mijas
Veggie Mijas is a group of women who advocate for food and environmental justice for BIPOC communities through the creation of sacred spaces where folks can share their experiences with food and plant-based lifestyles. Through an intersectional lens, they believe that partnering with World Animal Protection is an exciting opportunity to spread awareness of the harmful impacts of factory farming on animals and our planet, as well as the joys and benefits of plant-based living to all communities.
Instagram