The Director

Professor Emeritus Dr. Lisa Kemmerer is a globally recognized leader in the field of animal ethics, including religious ethics. With decades of experience as both an activist and an academic, she combines scholarship with direct action, bringing tangible change. Dr. Kemmerer has published thirteen influential books and over 100 articles, all of which advocate for animal liberation through the disciplines of ethics, religious studies, environmental studies, and social justice studies (including the full range of systems of oppression). Her groundbreaking, Oxford-published book, Animals and World Religions, forms a foundation for the Animals & Religion website, putting Dr. Kemmerer in a unique position to create this complex and much-needed website.

Dr. Kemmerer is also a hands-on activist and has disarmed illegal traps in Kenya, lobbied government officials for policy changes in India, and released animals from traps in states that continue to allow trapping. She is widely sought as a speaker, and has delivered lectures across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Combining academic rigor, a global perspective, and an activist’s determination, Dr. Kemmerer and Tapestry are ready to tackle this gigantic, long-overdue project and create a website that will have a lasting impact on religious communities worldwide. In the words of Matthew Halteman, Ph.D. (Professor of Philosophy, Calvin University)

“Kemmerer has three qualifications that put her in a class of one . . . : a decades-long record of groundbreaking research, a decades-long record of on-the-ground animal advocacy, and a tested commitment . . . [to] forming relationships within a variety of religious traditions.”