Indra Lahiri
Dr. Indra Lahiri is an organizational psychologist and is currently completing post-doctoral studies in Traumatic Stress with the Trauma Research Foundation. For decades, Indra worked with Fortune 50 companies to help them address challenges related to diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging, providing her with a unique perspective on how humans grow and change.
Since founding Indraloka Animal Sanctuary in 2005, Indra has led as Executive Director, where she has had the opportunity to observe the ways in which the beloved animals at Indraloka helped hurting humans heal, learn, and grow. She realized early on that we humans need the animals even more than they need us– and that if we let them be who they truly are– free from farms and cages and threats of death and living as equal loved ones together with humans– they save us over and over again.
Her award-winning blog, which chronicles sacred moments with rescued animals, is followed by tens of thousands of readers on every continent. Indra is grateful to have the opportunity to dedicate her life to helping traumatized animals rediscover joy, love, and trust.
The sanctuary is not named after Indra, but rather she is named after the Hindu God Indra who created Indraloka (Sanskrit name for the heaven for the Gods).
Elissa B. Katz, Esq.
Elissa B. Katz, Esq. is a partner in the Philadelphia law firm of Meranze, Katz & Gaudioso, P.C. She received her BA in Political Science from the George Washington University and JD from Temple University School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Elissa is the Chair of the PBA Animal Law Committee and a course planner of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute Annual Animal Law Conference. She is President of Humane PA PAC, Pennsylvania’s Political Voice for Animals, a non-partisan committee working to end cruelty to animals in Pennsylvania through public policy. Elissa previously served on the Board of Directors of Woodstock Farm Sanctuary and The Humane League. She is currently a Humane Policy Volunteer Leader with the Humane Society of the United States. Elissa shares her home with four cats and a turtle.
Sheila N. Cutler
Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Sheila studied Respiratory Therapy at Columbus State University and has been employed by numerous veterinarians. She became a Reiki Master in 2021.
She has served on the Board of The Montessori School of Scranton and is the founding Vice President of The Calligraphers Guild of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
She sat on the board of The Jewish Family Services and was chosen Volunteer of the Year for 2012.
Sheila and her husband Michael are the parents of four grown children and have 14 grandchildren who they love to visit in Israel and Los Angeles.
Dotsie Bausch
Since concluding a prolific professional cycling career that produced a medal at the 2012 London Olympic Games, eight U.S. national championships, two Pan American gold medals, and a world record, Dotsie Bausch has become a powerful influencer for plant-based eating for athletes and non-athletes alike. Named one of the top 20 most influential vegans in the world by VegNews magazine, she uses her soapbox, and her degree in plant-based nutrition, to advocate for dietary justice, planet earth, and animals.
Never one to shy away from facing staggering odds – just like she did in the Olympics while riding for Team USA, whose unlikely and triumphant story is chronicled in the Netflix documentary Personal Gold – she founded the non-profit Switch4Good. Switch4Good, an evidence-based nonprofit disrupting the disinformation Big Dairy feeds the public, works with health experts, athletes, social justice warriors, enlightened policymakers, and progressive corporations to promote ethical lifestyles and widespread behavioral change related to how we eat. Switch4Good launched in 2018 with a television commercial featuring six Olympians from four different countries who prove that cow’s milk is not part of a high-performance diet. The groundbreaking commercial
aired on NBC during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games closing ceremonies and on ABC during the Academy Awards broadcast; since its inception, its campaigns have reached 363 million people. Bausch is also one of the stars of the documentary The Game Changers directed by Oscar-winner Louie Psihoyos and executive produced by Oscar-
winner James Cameron.
Bausch speaks passionately around the world, spreading her message about the numerous benefits – humane, nutritional and environmental – of plant-based eating. Long before embodying radiant health and becoming an influential game changer, Bausch struggled for years with severe eating disorders and a recreational drug habit, a combination that triggered a suicide attempt. It was during her recovery that she discovered her gift and love for the bike.
Nabiha Basathia
Nabiha Basathia is a passionate, ethical vegan and an animal rights advocate. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2004 with a BA in Economics. Nabiha began her career in investment banking at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, with transaction experience including buyside and sellside M&A, and debt and equity capital raising for public and private companies. In 2009, she resigned to start a family, which has now grown to three boys. During Nabiha’s tenure outside of a full-time corporate job, she has provided strategic and financial consulting for plant-based businesses in Los Angeles. In early 2022, Nabiha opened a vegan restaurant in Hollywood, called The Gray Zebra, with the primary focus being accessible, health-supportive plant-based meals.