SRAP is pleased to welcome Ankush Sachdeva as its Communications, PR and Media Manager, and Donald Hutchinson as a Socially Responsible Food & Farm Network Coordinator.

Sachdeva joins the team with a unique combination of communications and pasture-based low-stress animal management experience. Having successfully designed and led branding campaigns for a decade in the technology and healthcare fields, Sachdeva sustainably farmed and raised livestock in a rotational grazing system for six years in California.

“As one who grew up in a rural setting in India, it has always been clear to me that the earth is a symbiotic system of connectedness, partnership and affinity,” says Sachdeva. “SRAP is doing crucial work within the community and the policy-making machinery to facilitate education and action that enables us to come together to protect ourselves, our neighbors, loved ones, and the earth itself. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to be a part of SRAP’s efforts and am excited to contribute.”

In his new role, Sachdeva will manage internal and external communications for SRAP, including working with the media, developing campaign messaging, handling event promotion, and more. When not working, Sachdeva enjoys writing, running on the beach, and—as a new musician—being vexed by his relentlessly uncooperative guitar. He lives, gratefully, on the majestic Oregon coast.

Hutchinson will coordinate a new Socially Responsible Food & Farm Network, which will engage advocates and community members to not only oppose the construction and expansion of new CAFOs, but also to advocate on behalf of regenerative local food systems, environment and climate initiatives, public health awareness, and animal welfare principles. In his role, Hutchinson will prioritize organizing and support for diverse communities, with a particular focus on communities with various cultural and socioeconomic needs.

Donald Hutchinson grew up in rural southwest Virginia where he spent his summers baling hay and cutting tobacco. For more than 20 years, he has been involved with environmental, animal welfare, and racial justice groups in various capacities, from organizing fundraising events to leading outreach efforts around racial justice issues. Donald has a BA in Geography and geographic information systems (GIS). In his graduate studies, he is exploring new ways to utilize GIS for social and environmental justice. His areas of study have included participatory GIS, scholar-activism, neoliberal governance, and race, racism, and whiteness.

“To me, SRAP represents the intersection of advocacy for people, planet, and animals, and so I feel very fortunate to have been selected to help build the Food and Farm Network,” Hutchinson says. “As a new hire, my priority and focus will be to listen and learn from each of the organization’s team members, as well as from the community members SRAP serves. I hope to better understand the diverse needs of rural residents suffering from the impacts of industrial agriculture, while empowering them to advocate for socially responsible agriculture systems.” Donald is currently residing in southern Maine, where he enjoys hiking, trail running, and cross-country skiing.

SRAP informs and educates the general public about the negative effects of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs)—also known as factory farms—while working directly with U.S. communities impacted by this destructive form of industrial animal agriculture. Through public education, issue advocacy, and local community organizing, SRAP empowers rural residents to protect their public health, environmental quality, natural resources and local economies from the damaging impacts of factory farms. For more information on SRAP, visit www.sraproject.org.