2024 Cleveland Vegfest Speakers
Speaker stage is in Room 25 of the Huntington Convention Center. Just follow the signs!
Dr. Keary O’Connor - 11:30 AM
Dr. Keary O'Connor is a board-certified family medicine physician who is also a diplomate of both the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. She has practiced in primary care for over 16 years and currently resides in Ohio. Dr. O'Connor is a graduate of Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and served on active duty in the U.S. Army where she began to develop her passion for whole food plant-based eating and using lifestyle interventions as treatment options for her patients.
Will Brooks - 12:30 PM
Will has been vegan for 6 years along with being an avid Jiu Jitsu competitor, weight lifter, coach and animal lover. Will’s story is unique because his vegan journey started just after a devastating spine injury left him unable to walk or use his left arm. The injury sent him back to looking like he had never touched a weight in his life. But despite his injury and lengthy recovery process, he went vegan and built himself back better than ever into the athlete you see today by only using the power of plants and hard work. They’ll say you can’t build muscle as a vegan, but he’s walking proof you can. And he didn’t it with a metal in his neck. Vegan strong!
Christopher “Soul” Eubanks - 1:30 PM
Christopher “Soul” Eubanks is a social justice advocate, public speaker and non profit director raised in Atlanta, Ga that has dedicated himself to doing advocacy work that advocates for collective liberation. After learning the horrors of animal exploitation, Christopher became vegan, began doing community organizing and helped to co-organize Atlanta’s first ever animal rights march. Christopher is the founder of APEX Advocacy, a non profit animal rights organization that teaches grassroots activism and creates various campaigns to empower Black, Indigenous and People of color to advocate for animal rights.
Sarina Farb - 2:30 PM
Sarina Farb is a holistic vegan educator, TEDx Speaker, and liberation activist working to make the world a better place for all beings. Being born and raised vegan in Kansas taught Sarina to think for herself stand for justice even when it’s unpopular. Today she focuses on combining heart and science to empower people to think critically, see past corporate propaganda, and to live ethically. Sarina is co-founder of the International Vegan Earth Day March and has given hundreds lectures and spoken at numerous universities while traveling the country in her vegan camper van. As a former science teacher with a biochemistry and policy studies degree, she is deeply passionate about bringing nuance, ethics, and social justice into conversations about science in society. Her videos and content have reached over a million people and her writings have been featured in numerous publications and books.
Gwenna Hunter - 3:30PM
Gwenna Hunter is the visionary founder of Vegans of Los Angeles and the pioneering force behind the city’s inaugural Vegan Food Bank. In May 2022, she etched her name in history as the first Black woman to establish a brick-and-mortar vegan food bank in the United States. Gwenna’s transformative journey into veganism ignited in February 2016, sparked by a profound supernatural awakening. In a dream where she shared consciousness with a cow, she experienced the depth of their emotions, from love and joy to pain and compassion. This awakening propelled her to adopt a vegan lifestyle and become a dedicated activist committed to reshaping beliefs surrounding animal treatment and dietary choices. Through the Vegans of Los Angeles Food Bank, Gwenna endeavors to not only provide essential nourishment but also infuse hope, light, and dignity into communities. Partnering with organizations like Hope on Union, she amplifies efforts to enhance food security and create a more compassionate world for all beings.