Our Staff

The serious stuff:

Mikalah is an Oregon-barred attorney with a JD, Certificate in Animal Law and, L.L.M. in Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. While at Lewis & Clark, Mikalah served as the Pro Bono Chair of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, was a member of Animal Law Review, and a student clerk for the International Environmental Law Project. She earned her BA in Cognitive Science and Psychology with honors from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio where she worked on research related to ethics and dehumanization.

Prior to joining CCS as the Program Manager, Mikalah was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Environmental Health and Engineering Department at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and part of the Toxicology Policy Program. While at Johns Hopkins, Mikalah worked with a team of lawyers and scientists to support in vitro models in research and safety testing through lobbying, education, and research. Her primary focus was on policy changes that the National Institutes of Health can make in its grant-making process to be more inclusive of the use and development of in vitro and in silico models in biomedical research. Additionally, Mikalah lobbied for federal legislation related to the acceptance of human-relevant methods in research and safety testing, examined existing environmental, animal, and public health laws, and assisted in the translation of scientific information into policy initiatives.

Mikalah has previously worked on policy and legal issues with organizations that aim to protect humans, animals, and the environment including the Animal Welfare Institute, Born Free Foundation, Mercy For Animals, and the Green Energy Institute. Mikalah is a Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and also the Founder and Executive Director of Fox Protection International, an organization dedicated to spreading awareness and supporting global efforts to protect fox species and their natural environments.

The fun stuff:

Mikalah lives in Portland, Oregon with her partner, Banks, and two rescue cats, Archer and Rory, who you can often catch a glimpse of in any Zoom or Teams call. Mikalah enjoys spending her spare time reading fantasy books, playing board games, and taking advantage of all the outdoor activities Oregon has to offer. If you are ever in Portland, you may find Mikalah and Banks at one of the local breweries sampling beer and planning their next adventure.