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Celebrities Jane Velez-Mitchell, Charlotte Ross, and more at animal rights conference
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Jane Velez-Mitchell, HLN anchor (Photo - CNN)
This weekend’s Animal Rights 2009 National Conference, running from Thursday through Monday in Los Angeles, will feature five celebrities lending their support to the cause: Jane Velez-Mitchell, anchor of Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell on HLN, actors Charlotte Ross, Elaine Hendrix, and French Stewart, and comedian ANT.
Velez-Mitchell will receive this year's Celebrity Animal Activist Award.
Billed as “the world's largest & longest-running animal rights gathering, hailing back to 1981,” the conference is “a forum for sharing knowledge, reporting on progress, discussing strategies and tactics, networking, and ‘recharging our batteries,’” as described by sponsor FARM (Farm Animal Rights Movement).
Registration runs from $120 to $160, however visitors may view the exhibits at no charge and choose to attend one session for free.
Highlights of the conference include:
(info from FARM Web site)
. 100 sessions, including keynote plenaries, workshops, raps/discussions & reports
. 90 speakers representing 60 animal protection groups in seven countries
. 90 free exhibits with compassionate shopping & social justice organizations
. Sessions on personal skills development, activism, organizing & outreach
. Eyewitness report on the Sea Shepherd whale wars and CA Prop 2 campaign
. Presentations & networking with leaders of other social justice movements
. Celebrity, Activist, and Campaign Awards at Saturday Banquet
. 80 videos including premieres
. Networking Receptions
. Delicious vegan cuisine
. Visitors and newcomers encouraged
Celebrity bios:
(Info from FARM Web site)
Jane Velez-Mitchell is the celebrated anchor of Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell on HLN (formerly CNN's Headline News). She can also be seen commenting on high-profile cases for CNN, MSNBC, Court TV, Fox News, E! and other national cable TV shows. She is the recipient of a Los Angeles Regional Emmy Award and a New York Regional Emmy Award. The KCAL-TV newscasts she co-anchored won three Southern California Golden Mike Awards and an Emmy. And she also wrote, directed and produced “Dancing Through Life,” an award-winning documentary.
Jane is well known as an animal rights advocate, a vegan and an environmentalist. While working at Celebrity Justice, Velez-Mitchell’s reporting on animal cruelty earned the show two Genesis Awards from the Humane Society of the United States. She will be receiving this year's Celebrity Animal Activist Award.
Charlotte Ross is best known for her starring roles in NYPD Blue and Days of our Lives, and her work in the soap opera led to two Emmy nominations. She has appeared in numerous other television shows including The Heights, The 5 Mrs. Buchanans, Married... with Children, Law & Order, and Frasier. Ross is also a singer, having studied opera for five years. She has love and compassion for animals and has collaborated with Jane Goodall Institute, SPCA, and PETA for many years. While on location in Puerto Rico, she adopted a homeless dog named Taco who now befriends her yellow lab, Alex, and her one-eyed Pekinese, Katy.
Elaine Hendrix is an American actress, producer, singer, dancer, and activist. She is best known for her roles in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, Inspector Gadget 2, and the 2004 documentary What the Bleep Do We Know!?. She has also starred in television shows such as Joan of Arcadia, Friends, CSI, and Married... with Children. As an activist, Hendrix is the celebrity spokesperson for In Defense of Animals and has participated in many protests against cruelty to animals. She is also involved in Pets 90210 adoption events.
French Stewart is best known for his role as Harry Solomon on the 1990s sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun and has more recently had guest appearances on The Closer. He has appeared in numerous other television shows, including Just Shoot Me!, That ‘70s Show and Charmed. He has also appeared in films, including Stargate and Leaving Las Vegas, and had starring roles in other films, playing the lead in the 1999 comedy, Love Stinks. In addition to his on-screen acting, he has provided the voice for several animated television characters.
ANT is a stand-up comedian and actor, having appeared in various TV shows and movies. He has performed in comedy clubs across the nation since 1991. He spent 4 years as a regular cast member on Unhappily Ever After. ANT appeared as a contestant on Last Comic Standing, and has been in six of that show's seven seasons. He is the host of VH1 reality series Celebrity Fit Club and was a regular judge of talent on Steve Harvey's Big Time. ANT also frequently appears as a commentator on such shows as VH1's Best Week Ever and CNBC's Dennis Miller, and is a regular guest on The Tyra Banks Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and "The Howard Stern Show". His stand-up DVD and comedy CD have sold tens of thousands of copies. ANT's daily video blog, "The ANT Colony," has taken the web by storm garnering over a million visitors per month.
A lifelong dog addict and rescuer, Katerina (a.k.a. Kathryn Makris) wrote Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know about Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press, 2007) with coauthor Shelley Frost. Katerina's other credits include seventeen novels, numerous newspaper and magazine articles, four years as a wire service reporter, and a CBS teleplay.
Email Katerina at youradopteddog@yahoo.com, and visit her and Shelley at www.youradopteddog.com
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