Meet the Vegan Hacktivists: Michael Webermann

Let's get to know Michael Webermann, the newest addition to the team! This December, Michael joined Vegan Hacktivists part-time as the Strategic Initiatives Lead. His previous animal advocacy experience includes serving as Executive Director for both Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) and ProVeg International U.S., as well as co-founding the Animal & Vegan Advocacy (AVA) Summit. Most recently, he served as a Regional Organizer on progressive political campaigns in the United States before returning to the nonprofit sector.

Read on to discover what Michael does in his second job (you’d probably never guess it!), how he became vegan, and the one anti-vegan argument he cannot stand!

You’ve been in the movement for over a decade now, including seven years with FARM, where you eventually served as Executive Director. You were also ProVeg International’s first U.S. Executive Director and co-founded both the Animal & Vegan Advocacy (AVA) Summit and Better Eating International. What has been your experience working with these, shall we say, fairly different organizations?

I always try to engage in work that balances what the movement needs most at the moment, what I am most skilled at, and what I personally enjoy (or at least won’t burn out doing). AVA International (and the Summit), for example, was born from conversations with donors and movement leaders who specifically requested such a project. I had done similar work at FARM, so I was uniquely qualified for the project (though I can confidently say it’s in even better hands now!).

Do you have any lessons learned you could share?

I learned important lessons from Better Eating. While I’m very proud of that project, we had to accept that it launched at the wrong time, probably a few years too late. By the time we developed our micro-targeting approach, which relied heavily on data tracking from sites like Facebook, those tactics were already becoming unpopular. We first had the idea years before we launched, and if we’d been able to secure funding in 2014, it could have been wildly successful. But since we weren’t able to launch until 2017/2018, we might have been better off considering an entirely different project instead.

How did you learn about Vegan Hacktivists? How did you make the decision to join?

I’ve known about Vegan Hacktivists since their inception! I’ve always supported capacity building groups because I know how easy it is for movements to only focus on advocacy programs and forget to develop the fundamental skills needed to run and market an organization. I joined in hopes that I could help VH holistically review its many products for our movement and position the best ones to help even more advocates and individuals.

What do you enjoy the most about being part of the VH team?

VH is especially inspiring and fulfilling because 1) the team is made up largely of volunteers and former volunteers, so the genuine passion of everyone involved is very evident, and 2) the structure of VH encourages innovation and self-reflection. I prefer being part of teams where it feels safe to question assumptions and critically analyze decisions, which VH exemplifies.

You joined VH as we're gearing up to rebrand Playground as Flockwork, and you’ve been spearheading its strategy. What do you find most exciting about it?

I think the most exciting time to be part of a program is when it transitions from the "testing" phase to the "expansion" phase. We already know that Flockwork is a valuable tool for the movement, with tens of thousands of hours volunteered. Since I am not a programmer or developer but have a long history in campaign management and marketing, I’m excited to join now, when I can help scale the program and connect even more organizations with top talent!

What do you do in your spare time?

In my personal time, I enjoy everything about music—dancing, listening, performing—cooking, and sometimes just being a goofball.

What is something that others may find quirky, surprising, or unexpected about you?

I’m a part-time karaoke DJ as my second job!

Tell us how you became one!

Haha, it’s not that interesting, really! I attend a lot of karaoke events (I used to play in bands, but I find it easier to make time to sing when I don’t need to coordinate practices with four others!). Eventually, local KJ’s noticed that I was reliable and available to substitute when they got sick or double-booked. These days, my main karaoke gigs are actually at animal rights events!

Which songs or artists are you currently listening to?

The US election results have me listening to mostly angry or moody music: Rage Against the Machine, The Cure, and Phoebe Bridgers!

How long have you been vegan and what made you go vegan? What is one anti-vegan argument you absolutely cannot stand?

I have been vegan for over 20 years, and a few more years vegetarian before that! I first stopped eating animals as a teenager just because it felt wrong to me; I didn’t know anything about factory farming or the environmental harm of animal agriculture. Over the next few years, I read numerous books and watched the few documentaries that existed at the time, learned how much worse it all was than I could have imagined (including egg and dairy production), and became vegan.

I don’t mind vegan-skeptical arguments rooted in genuine lack of knowledge, such as "you can’t be healthy without meat" or "soy products are worse for the environment." No one knows what they don’t yet know, so I’m pretty patient with that. I become much more frustrated by bad-faith or defeatist arguments, such as "I would go vegan, but I care about people more than animals," or when people return to daily animal consumption because they struggled to remain 100% vegan. I always remind people that just because we can’t solve 100% of human or animal exploitation doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

What is your go-to favorite dish to make? (Feel free to drop in a recipe!)

Seitan-and-cashew-cheese enchiladas are my favorite dish to cook, though they take an entire day, so I only make them once every year or two! I don’t follow a single recipe but instead reference, combine, and veganize a collection of both vegan and non-vegan recipes to create (in my opinion) the perfect enchilada. I’ll be making them this Christmas—I’ll try to remember to write it down. :)

Fill-in-the-blanks:

• I could never get sick of karaoke.

• My biggest pet peeve is apathy.

• If money, time, and skills were not an issue, I would still be a full-time activist

• All animals are great, but my favorite is the arctic fox!