NEW YORK, N.Y. — June 15, 2026 — Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP), a national nonprofit that trains student leaders in the animal rights movement, today announced the completion of its National Leadership Bootcamp, a five-day training held in New York City from June 11–15 for 25 of the organization's student activists.

The program was designed to sharpen participants' organizing and advocacy skills while reinforcing ASAP's core philosophy: that lasting change for animals requires ending exploitation altogether, rather than mitigating its conditions.

An Advocacy Philosophy Rooted in Abolition

Throughout the week, students were trained in ASAP's abolitionist approach to animal advocacy, which holds that animals should not be exploited at all, rather than treated more humanely within existing systems of use. The organization argues that welfare-focused campaigns, such as those promoting "free-range" or "cage-free" labeling, can inadvertently ease public concern about animal exploitation without ending it, and trains its activists to communicate that distinction clearly and directly.

Expert-Led Sessions

Participants heard from a range of practitioners working across the animal advocacy movement, including sessions led by:

• Dr. Faraz Harsini, Founder and CEO of ASAP, who urged students to pursue animal advocacy as a long-term commitment rather than a conventional career path, telling students: "A career can bring satisfaction. This work asks for more than that, it asks for real commitment, because the animals we're speaking for don't get a say in who shows up for them."
• The President of a leading food-technology nonprofit, on the science and market outlook for plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated meat, and its implications for climate, public health, and animal welfare.
• The Vice President of Laboratory Investigations at a major animal protection organization, on decades of campaigns to end animal testing, including efforts that contributed to the closure of a contract animal-testing facility and to the end of a long-running NIH maternal-deprivation study on primates.
• A biophysicist and science policy specialist at a national medical advocacy nonprofit, on the intersection of AI, science policy, and non-animal research methods.
• The co-founder of an international animal-rights outreach organization, on public outreach strategy and messaging.
• A vegan chef and restaurateur, on building a career in plant-based hospitality.

Statements

“These students already show up for animals every day. Our job this week was to help them understand what that responsibility really requires,” said Dr. Faraz Harsini, Founder and CEO of Allied Scholars for Animal Protection. “Animals don’t get a say in who fights for them. That’s on us.”

“There will be moments when our efforts feel impossible, alone, outmatched by the scale of this injustice and what we're up against. But remember that the frontier of our movement is everywhere, every poster we hang up, every conversation we have, video we make, contributes to pushing our cause forward. We must try.” said Ryan Blum, previous University of Wisconsin-Madison chapter lead.

About Allied Scholars for Animal Protection

Allied Scholars for Animal Protection (ASAP) is a national nonprofit organization that trains student leaders in animal advocacy through education, leadership development, and direct outreach. For more information, visit AlliedScholars.org.

Media Contact
press@alliedscholars.org .