Meet the Protego Foundation's
Board of Directors & Comittee Members
Valerie Short
Board President
she/her | Valerie fell in love with the Harry Potter series after seeing Chamber of Secrets for the first time in the theater. Since then, the series has influenced nearly every aspect of her life. During her time in film school, she worked as a witch at both the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade and Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment in Diagon Alley. From there, she joined the Universal Studios Marketing and Creative teams as a media coordinator and video editor. She loves to travel, attend conventions, and plan themed events, including her own wedding where she recreated the Great Hall – complete with a vegan Hogwarts cake! Her love for animals began in her earliest stages of life and continues to grow every day. In high school, she joined an animal rights group and immediately decided to become a vegetarian. She and her husband both completed the transition to becoming vegan together in 2020. She volunteers weekly at an animal sanctuary and has plans to adopt many more rescued animals in the near future. Valerie is a Ravenclaw and lives in Colorado with her husband and animal companions. |
NICOLE HERING
Board Vice President & Secretary 
she/her | Nicole has been a vegan since 2020, a Gryffindor for a quarter of a century, and an animal lover for life. She now lives in the mountains of Colorado with her companion dog, Loki. Fun fact: Nicole actually has a lightning-shaped scar on her forehead! |
Justin Gonsalves
Treasurer 
he/him | A proud Gryffindor and lifelong lover of fantasy and sci-fi, Justin brings both heart and thoughtfulness to the Treasury position. A committed vegan since 2020, his love for animals is deeply personal and rooted in values of compassion, courage, and responsibility. Based in Colorado, Justin spends his time rock climbing, playing disc golf, and exploring the natural world he’s dedicated to protecting. When indoors, you’ll likely find him immersed in sci-fi novels or gathered around a table for a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. A longtime supporter of The Protego Foundation, Justin has followed its growth through the podcast, literature, campaigns, and other members of the organization for years. He’s excited to steward an organization that proves fandom can be a powerful force for good, and that choosing compassion is its own kind of magic. |
Matthew Braun
Board Member 
he/him | Matthew is a game show champion, published author, and former undercover investigator whose career has been dedicated to advancing animal liberation. He appeared as a contestant on The Weakest Link, where he highlighted his work on behalf of animals. As a contributing author to Voices for Animal Liberation, he shared his personal journey through depression and the profound impact one animal had on transforming his life. Matthew’s investigative work was possible due to his Slytherin resourcefulness and determination. In his current role as Senior Manager of Grassroots Protest Campaigns at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Matthew provides strategic guidance, materials, and organizational support to help activists strengthen their protests, marches, and rallies nationwide. Outside of his professional work, Matthew enjoys vegan pizza (with pineapple), craft beer, trivia, and playing Magic: The Gathering. |
Parth Parekh
Board Member 
he/him | Parth was introduced to Harry Potter by binge-watching the first 4 movies in India. Once he found out that they were based on books, he decided to become a reader. Harry Potter was Parth's gateway for diving into the Western fantasy world. Later, he moved to Canada, where he currently resides. Being vegetarian from birth, finding suitable options in a foreign country proved to be a challenge. Researching options led him to discovering the many issues with animal agriculture. He decided to go vegan in 2021 with the help of a found community from podcasts like The Chickpeeps and ProtegoCast and he has never been happier! |
Brittany Drake
Board Member
she/her/they | Brittany has always been an avid reader. As a Lord of the Rings fan, she was initially skeptical of the Harry Potter series. The first three Harry Potter books were gifted to her brother in 1999, but when he did not read them, she couldn't let them sit on the shelf untouched! She quickly devoured all three and fell hard for the magical world and the characters, especially Ron. Brittany is a Hufflepuff with an affinity for helping others and a love of animals. In 2011, she went vegan and never looked back. Two years later, she started doing grassroots activism with Direct Action Everywhere. She has rescued several hens from factory farms and slaughterhouses throughout California, and in 2019, she took part in a civil disobedience by locking down at a duck farm that was criminally abusing and neglecting ducks. Brittany is also a home chef, feminist, cinephile, writer, introvert, singer, and actor with a penchant for pushing boundaries. She currently lives in Colorado with her partner. |
Amanda Brody
Board Member 
she/her | Amanda went vegan in 2017 after reading a dairy leaflet and became an animal activist when she began working for PETA in 2018. Before PETA, she worked at Universal Orlando at Ollivander's wand shop after she read the Harry Potter series for the first time ever in her 20's. She learned of the vegan Harry Potter community through The Chickpeeps podcast and The Protego Foundation. As the Campaigns Media Manager at PETA, Amanda conducts media interviews for various local and national media outlets and mentors others on becoming the best spokespeople for animals. Amanda has led over 200 PETA demonstrations, including successfully campaigning to shut down the Miami Seaquarium, taking on animal experimenters with a 40-foot inflatable spider, serving veggie dogs on Capitol Hill, and participating in a sit-in at a grocery store to help end the use of captive monkeys forced to pick coconuts in Thailand. Amanda lives in West Palm Beach with her husband and two adopted cats, Wicklow and Rainier. When she is not out protesting for animals, she can be found spending time with her cats, crocheting, or heading out to a concert or local brewery. |
Miguel Stonecipher
Finance Committee Member
he/him | Miguel serves as Vice President of Client Onboarding at JPMorgan, specializing in the Government, Healthcare, Higher Education, and Not-for-Profit sectors. In this capacity, he leads complex project implementations and provides dedicated ongoing support for Commercial Card products. Beyond his primary role, Miguel is an advocate for workplace inclusion, serving as Co-Chair for the JPMorganChase PRIDE Illinois Business Resource Group. His commitment to the LGBTQ+ professional community extends to his membership in the Chicago chapters of Out in Finance and the Queer Consulting Network. Previously, Miguel served as a Board Member and Community and Programs Director for The Protego Foundation. His connection to the organization’s mission is deeply personal: he attributes his decision to go vegan in 2019 to the advocacy work of Protego’s leaders. Through his work with the foundation, he has become a lifelong advocate for animal rights. |
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