Excitement on stage doesn’t stop when the music does. Between performances, you will enjoy the wit, wisdom, and knowledge of mind-blowing, thought- provoking speakers on a wide-range of Vegan topics covering animals, human health, the environment, and more!
As a special gift to the community, Go Vegan Radio – the non-profit organization producing REGGAE VEGAN FEST – is inviting the public to attend THE FREE COLLEGE OF VEGAN KNOWLEDGE, just south of our paid ticketed event, where you can see and hear most of our informative main-stage speakers and others in lengthier discussions FOR FREE.
Ticket holders for LA REGGAE VEGAN FEST will also have access to THE FREE COLLEGE OF VEGAN KNOWLEDGE and can go back and forth whenever they please.
Pablo Aztlan
EmceePablo Aztlan Acevedo Artist and visionary, my passion is to create and inspire the youth to connect to their creativity and do art . I am a muralist beginning art age 3 Painting Chicano Park Murals. I began with my Father Mario Torero, one of the founders of Chicano Park. Until this day Now I am Painting my own murals, Which I am working on a big mural in South bay , Bonita I have recently completed. I live and work at Mundo Gallery & Healing Center seed. Here I paint facilitate integrative healing Indigenous healing with meditation, visualization and art creation. Art as a healing. I am an Artist in Chicano Park Muralist, as well as many internationally in Peru, Mexico, and here local artist and resident at Mundo Gallery Healing Center, This Space is inherited from My Grandfather Guillermo Acevedo , given to My Father Mario Torero. I’m here to make it a healing Center and soon to be Vegan café. I am a Raw Vegan chef of “Ital-national vegan fuzion. I make juices as well. I am a Juice plus tower gardens distributor for healthy living plans . Garden coordinator for Sherman Heights Garden Club. currently at Birney School Garden, World Beat artist, promoter, MC ,cook and out reach and Outdoor classroom Director, For The Children’s Garden Club. Specializing in organic permaculture, sustainability, Organic farming, vermaculture and Soil Science, Life Cycle, as well as healer, native meditation, for visualization, Inspirer of art, muralist all over the world and based in Chicano Park and Mundo Gallery Acevedo Artist third generation Thank you for inviting me to bring my art to this place where I mission is to create a space for meditation, visualization, and art creation. I bring these works here to promote art and wellness with Vegan food, juicing and creativity Healing with Art!
Chef Babette
Speaking: "Changing the Road"Chef Babette is a world-class healthy chef, fitness expert and motivational speaker. She runs a successful restaurant, Stuff I Eat, and has a loyal fan base via social media outlets while participating in health summit events around the country. She is a force of nature who seems to be able to do it all and transformed her life at the young age of 40.
Chef Babette has appeared on such shows as The Chew in the new HBO hit comedy series Insecure the Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family amongst a few. This soon to be 68 year-old, this fitness enthusiast and self taught chemist in the kitchen, has been perfecting healthy food that taste out of this world which has allowed her to eat
and enjoy the meals she loved without the guilt or associated “diseases” or ailments.
The co-owner of Stuff I Eat, a restaurant in the heart of downtown Inglewood, California, Chef Babette shares an array of raw and cooked recipes including
Inspirational Messages and Chef B’s Delectable Delights. Continuing to spread the word of Chef B’s Delectable Delights, she has just completed a dessert book Cash In On
Cashews, the first book in her Crave Series, which focuses on the versatility of the amazing cashew nut.
Amy Jean Davis
Speaker: "The Save Movement"Amy Jean Davis went vegan in 2002. She came to Los Angeles in 2008 as a top 24 Finalist on American Idol. She’s a co-founder of vegan animal sanctuary, Love Always. In 2016 she founded LA Animal Save, part of the global Animal Save Movement. She also works for Nation Earth, the production company behind EARTHLINGS and UNITY documentaries, with filmmaker and partner, Shaun Monson. Shaun and Amy welcomed a human vegan earthling, Phoenix, in 2018.
Sari Eitches, MD, MS
Speaking: "The Health Benefits of Living Vegan"Dr. Sari Eitches is a graduate of UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, and SUNY Upstate Medical University. She completed her residency at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY and served as an attending internist at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to live and serve in her native Los Angeles. She is a former yoga teacher and a long-time vegan who is passionate about promoting optimum wellness through lifestyle. She married her med-school sweetheart and keeps busy and blessed with their two vibrant children.
While Dr. Eitches’ education and training ground her in rigorous science, she remains open to the magic and mystery in life. She is fascinated and humbled by the body’s ability to heal itself. She is interested in supporting the body’s innate intelligence of regenerative health rather than pharmaceutically quieting symptoms without addressing their root cause. It is her passion to bring radiant health to those wanting more life out of life.
Karen Hamza
Speaking: "Angel Hanz for the Homeless: Resources for People & their Companion Animals"Karen Hamza is the founder and creative force that drives ANGEL HANZ FOR THE HOMELESS, INC., a non-profit dedicated to helping homeless people and their animals in Los Angeles.
Karen knows what it feels like to be alone and without support, as several years ago she was faced with homelessness. As a result, she is driven to help others who are faced with loneliness, poverty and homelessness. Karen is also a dedicated pet lover. Karen has dedicated her life’s work to assisting unfortunate folks and their pets.
ANGEL HANZ FOR THE HOMELESS, INC. is a grassroots organization built by Karen Hamza. Her philosophy is that every pet and every person should be treated with respect and dignity. Her perspective on homelessness allows her to assist the homeless in an agile, effective manner. She is an advocate for human and animal rights who will do just about anything to better the life of another living creature.
Karen is also the first to author a resource guide to enable homeless and their pets acquire numerous resources. Content in her guidebook includes information on food pantries, shelters, and pet resources.
Gwenna Hunter
Speaking: "People of Color & Compassion for Animals"Reporter on Jane Unchained / Lunchbreak Live, founder of Vegans of LA
Bob Linden
EmceeEvent organizer, co – emcee, host of 501(c)3 Go Vegan Radio, Bob is a legendary, award-winning Program Director of music radio stations around the US (CD-101 New York, Jazzy 100 Washington, DC, Love 94 Miami, The Sound Seattle, KIFM San Diego, 94Q Atlanta, Star 106 San Antonio, Z-92 Omaha, KKLZ Las Vegas). Bob is the original organizer of WorldFest-LA at Woodley Park in 2000 and creator of the World Vegan Summit & Expo, PlanetFest, and CommunityFest. Bob hosts the first-ever mainstream media Vegan talk show “Go Vegan Radio with Bob Linden” (www.GoVeganRadio.com) which has been heard on the Air America radio network, GCN radio network, Clear Channel and CBS stations around the country, and in Los Angeles on KRLA and K-TALK.
RasTakura
Dub PoetryVital food advocate, nominated for the International Reggae and World Music (IRAWMA) award for “Dub Poet of The Year” in 2011, he is founder of the annual “Dis Poem – Wordz & Agro Festival”. Dub Poetry has a traditional role in Jamaican Reggae, Ras Takura represents its second generation, following in the foot steps of people like Oku Onora, Linton Kwesi Jonson and Mutabaruka who is featured on RasTakura’s recent release “Food War”
Dr. Askia Muwwakkil
Speaking: "How to Detox Your Mind, Body, Spirit, & Environment"Askia Muwwakkil is a holistic practitioner born and raised in Los Angeles who has been involved in the community as a businessman and advocate for over 30 years. He is a fifth generation herbalist following in line with his Great Uncle, Dr. Alonzo Kinnebrew, physician and herbalist to Dr. Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee University. Askia’s clients range from those in grassroots community to the entertainment world. He has lectured on health and wellness for companies such as Xerox, U.S. Job Corp. LAUSD, USC, The City of Inglewood, The Center of Lupus Care, The Los Angeles Probation Department, Omzone Maui, Spa Six and Hall of Fame Entertainment. He has also been a featured guest on several television and radio programs both locally and throughout the country.
SGT Vegan (AKA Bill Muir, RN, BSN)
SpeakingVegan since 1992, Bill Muir (SGT Vegan), author of “Vegan Strong: The Ultimate Field Guide for a Kick-Ass Plant-Fueled Life”, is a former US Army paratrooper who adhered to his Vegan ways even through vigorous military training and deployment to Afghanistan as a combat medic. Since his honorable discharge, Bill has earned a Certificate in Vegan Culinary Arts and a Nursing Degree. He is currently a Registered Nurse at the West Los Angeles Medical Center.
Dolly Vyas-Ahuja
Speaking: "Dairy Is NOT Ahimsa"Dolly Vyas-Ahuja is an Ahimsa animal activist and a voice for the voiceless. Her mission is to spread awareness and education about the cruelty of the Dairy Industry. She comes from a Gandhian family and is the granddaughter of a Freedom Fighter for social justice in India. One of her main objectives is to have Indian temples pledge to be cruelty free and ban the use of dairy products. She also frequently speaks at Jain temples and various vegan events to stress the importance of switching to a plant based diet for animals, the environment, and human health. She was honored to speak at the World Vegan Conference in New Delhi, India. Her goal is to create a world where everyone lives their essential nature of practicing compassion. She is producing an upcoming documentary called The Land of Ahimsa. She hopes the film will inspire those to incorporate pure Ahimsa into their daily lives.
Nina Womack
Nina Womack is a Social Entrepreneur, Entertainment Professional, Homeless Advocate and Founder of Let’s Be Whole, a Peer-Operated, Community-based agency that offers holistic wellness, nutrition security and mental health support to the disenfranchised, underserved, and most vulnerable populations since 2015. As a childhood sexual and physical abuse survivor with “lived experience”, Nina is a trained Peer Specialist who successfully maintains recovery from PTSD symptoms & domestic-violence related homelessness through self-management via holistic and alternative wellness practices.
Let’s Be Whole has partnered with organizations such as; City of Los Angeles, Martin Luther King Trauma Center, the Korean Culture Center, NAMI Urban L.A., Black Women For Wellness, LADMH Peer Resource Center, Southwest College, Department of Cultural Affairs, SHARE!, the Los Angeles Community Action Network and more to combat prevalent health disparities.
The organization has won grants from the L.A. County Department of Mental Health under Cal MHSA to create health fairs and wellness workshops throughout South L.A. The brand is currently planning for expansion to other parts of the U.S. and in Ghana, West Africa.
Dr. Farid Zarif
Speaking: "Meals that Heal"Dr. Farid Zarif is an award winning fitness expert and globally noted weight loss and management professional. Dr. Zarif is a graduate of the American College of Holistic Nutrition and holds a doctorate in Naturopathy, and a doctor of philosophy in human nutrition science. He is registered and certified by the Council on Naturopathic Registration and Accreditation. Dr. Zarif is a former instructor at the Western University School of Medicine. He is trained in Bariatric Medicine, which means he specializes in weight loss and obesity, the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses of overweight and obese adults, from their teen years through senior adult.