My name is Emily. I’m a Wisconsin native who’s always been compassionate about animals. My mom was convinced I would grow up to be a vet. I went vegetarian at the ripe age of 13. Two instances lead me to stop eating meat: a bloody chicken fillet sandwich from Hardee’s and a special on the news about the factory farming of chickens. In college I learned about the horrors of the dairy industry and decided to go vegan (a tough feat in the dairy state). That lasted almost 2 years, but I wasn’t well-educated on proper vegan nutrition, didn’t take the best care of myself as a student, and felt lightheaded a lot. Note: surviving on coffee, bagels and alcohol can be hard on the system. So, I went back to being vegetarian. But I’ve learned a lot since then about proper nutrition and many other aspects of the vegan lifestyle. I was a strict vegan for seven years and recently went back to vegetarian. I may go back to vegan again in the future, but for now, I’m enjoying the vegetarian lifestyle.

I currently reside in Minneapolis with my husband, Emory, and our cute flat-faced cat, Sophia. I have a B.S. in art with a graphic design emphasis from the University of Wisconsin, and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Minnesota. I am now a PhD student at the University of Minnesota in the Cognitive and Brain Sciences area of the psychology department. My focuses are auditory perception and music psychology.