Mad City Vegan Fest is a project of Alliance for Animals, Wisconsin's voice for animals since 1983 (address below).

Mad City Vegan Fest
Alliance for Animals
P.O. Box 1632
Madison, WI 53701

Our Mission Statement

• To highlight the ethical, environmental, and health benefits of a lifestyle free of all animal products (vegan).
• To provide a nonjudgmental, supportive, and fully inclusive environment for vegans and for those hoping to learn more about veganism.
• To demonstrate the accessibility of veganism by showcasing vegan products and organizations with an emphasis on local resources.
• To advocate compassion as the means by which to alleviate the suffering of humans and animals alike.

Hannah West: Founder

I'm a UW Madison student majoring in music education, and I work part-time doing the Simply Vegan Newsletter for Alliance for Animals. Alliance for Animals is our awesome sponsoring organization, and you should follow them. You can find them on facebook here and Simply Vegan is on facebook here. I went vegan in 9th grade as my new year's resolution, and I still haven’t broken it :) Every day that I lead a vegan lifestyle, filled with compassionate, non-violent choices and healthy food, I know that I am doing what is right, what is in accordance with my morals, the best thing for my body, and the most loving action I can take for human and non-human animals and our earth. It's a dream come true to help organize a fest celebrating and sharing veganism with the rest of Madison and an honor to work with the amazing volunteers listed on this page.

Alex Goke

Currently a student at UW-Madison studying Environmental Science and Community & Nonprofit Leadership, I am constantly seeking ways to align my educational, professional, and moral ambitions with my personal lifestyle. Veganism was a natural choice, benefiting not only my personal health but also propagating a passion for animals and the environment, both of which I’ve always held dear. I am so lucky to have been a part of Mad City Vegan Fest since year one. At the time an incoming freshman, MCVF gave me not only a plethora of resources, but also a wonderful community to support me in my ongoing transition from a six-year vegetarian to a hopefully-lifelong vegan! Aside from assisting with graphic design and marketing for the Vegan Fest, I can be found helping out at Dane County Humane Society on the weekends, attempting (but mostly failing) to sustain vegetative life in my student slum apartment, biking out the Military Ridge State Trail, aggressively trolling Library Mall for vegan meals from the various food carts, or just catching some rays on the Union Terrace!

Ben West

In addition to being the "amazing boyfriend" Gina mentions below, I work as a programmer doing web development on a C#/ASP.NET-MVC stack as a day job, but I have some personal sites running django and I play with / get mad at Haskell a lot. My hobbies currently center around number theory, but if you have an idea from a field with "theoretical" in the title, I'd probably be interested. My sole contribution to mankind thus far has been creating the following joke: "Why was Sun-Tzu always on time? Because he knew the Chinese Reminder Theorem!" If you thought that joke had too much humor and not enough math, you'd probably enjoy my blog.

Charlie Talbert

I'm currently President of Alliance For Animals and have been a member since 2005. My partner Vicky and I went vegan on 4/4/04 (easy date to remember!) after seeing Peaceable Kingdom. It’s since been made even better: 3 1/2 minute preview. I volunteer also as Treasurer of Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministry (UUAM). After I retired in 2011 as CFO of a healthcare system in SE Wisconsin, we moved to Madison. I love biking here. Favorite food? That would be the Ultimate Veggie Burger from the cookbook Vegan Planet. Caveat: I haven’t yet tried Lynn’s homemade peanut butter dog biscuits.

Dave Friedman

I've been vegan for a year and was vegetarian for 32 years before that. I organize the Madison Area Vegetarian Meetup Group, which hosts monthly vegan dinners at local restaurants. We also have many other events: potlucks, cooking lessons, game nights, camping trips, scenic hikes, apple picking outings, and many others. Check out vegmadison.org for more information. It's free to join. I'm also working on TofuConnection.com, which will be a place for single vegetarians and vegans to find each other. It will also help foster connections between vegetarian and vegan parents. Non-vegan aspects of my life include ultimate frisbee, word games, and gadgets.

Gina Stuessy

I think of my decision to become vegan as one of the best decisions I've made in my life, and only wish that I had made it sooner! I enjoy volunteering for, and being on the board of Alliance for Animals, and have met several intelligent and passionate activists (one of whom you'll read about next)! My favorite foods are chocolate, tomatoes, and wine, and I probably spend too much time watching medical dramas. I live with my amazing boyfriend and our 2 vegan cats, "Tequilla", and "The Hunter". I occasionally write in my blog.

Lynn Pauly

I am Co-Director of Alliance for Animals and absolutely thrilled that Madison has its own Vegan Fest. I have been vegan for 16 years and was vegetarian for 15 years before that. I remember the morning I went vegan; I finally felt "right". I live with my vegan husband and fellow Co-Director Rick Bogle and our vegan dog, Mickey. Mickey's favorite treats are iceberg lettuce, broiled Brussels sprouts, and my homemade peanut butter dog biscuits! I get inspiration from so many different people – Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Rae Sikora – the list goes on and on. I'm honored to play even a small part in this exciting event!