Our mission is to build a mass movement for open rescue.

Wayne Hsiung is an animal rights lawyer, organizer, and investigator who has spent two decades exposing injustices in factory farming. A former professor at Northwestern School of Law, he co-founded The Simple Heart Initiative to build the legal and narrative infrastructure for a mass movement for open rescue.

Wayne has been repeatedly prosecuted for his open rescue work, and has turned each trial into a national platform for education about animal cruelty and the right of individuals to intervene. His newsletter, The Simple Heart, reaches over 143,000 subscribers.

Outside of his work, Wayne is a dedicated dog dad, which makes his commitment to the Ridglan rescue deeply personal.

Priya is an animal cruelty investigator and rescuer known for her bold interventions. She has made headlines by confronting high-profile figures to raise awareness about animal cruelty, especially in factory farming, and by rescuing animals from dire situations.

Dean Wyrzykowski is a co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of The Simple Heart Initiative with over eight years in animal advocacy, and a lead organizer of the Ridglan campaign who has recruited and trained hundreds of activists. Previously president of the animal advocacy club at UC Berkeley and field director for a Berkeley mayoral campaign, he now faces felony charges for an open rescue of dogs at Ridglan Farms.

Almira Tanner is a lead organizer in the grassroots animal rights movement, working to achieve revolutionary change for animals within a generation. She provides strategic guidance for campaigns, oversees a team of a dozen full-time organizers and hundreds of volunteers, and does everything from fundraising and training activists to lobbying, legislative campaigns, and planning a 1,000-plus attendee conference.

Jon Frohnmayer is an attorney and animal rights activist. He graduated from Stanford University and the University of Oregon School of Law, where he was Editor in Chief of the Oregon Law Review and President of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund. He worked for several years doing transactional law before moving into animal rights.