The board of the Culture & Animals Foundation (CAF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Martin Rowe as its Executive Director. The creation of this position reflects the growth of CAF, which was co-founded in 1985 by the philosopher Tom Regan (1938–2017), author of The Case for Animal Rights, and his late wife, Nancy (1938–2021).

In the last four years, CAF, which provides annual grants to scholars and artists to advance our understanding of and commitment to the rights of nonhuman animals, has created the annual Tom Regan Memorial Lecture, and awarded the Tom Regan Fellowship at the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) at the NC State University Libraries. (Tom taught at NC State for more than three decades.) In 2020, CAF initiated the Nancy Regan Arts Prize, a reflection of Nancy’s interest in the arts as a vehicle to change hearts and minds about animals. Rowe, who joined the CAF board in 2016 and served as its treasurer and co–vice president for three years, has three decades of commitment to animal advocacy. He co-founded Lantern Books in 1999, and, in 2020, Lantern Publishing & Media, the leading publisher of books on animal advocacy and veganism in the U.S. In 1994, he co-founded Satya magazine, which brought together writings on vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal advocacy, and social justice. He is the author of several works of non-fiction, and is a senior fellow at Brighter Green, a non-profit international public policy action tank focusing on environmental issues and animals.

“I’m honored the board has entrusted me with this job,” Rowe says. “As we move deeper into this vital decade for the survival of our planet, CAF is ready to enhance our understanding, and expand the imaginative possibilities of supporting, the lives and rights of animals.”

Karen Regan, CAF board member and Tom and Nancy’s daughter, remarks of Rowe’s appointment: “Martin has provided excellent service to CAF and has been instrumental in expanding our programs and outreach. CAF is uniquely situated to support scholars and artists, and Martin is the right person to build upon and broaden my parents’ vision.”