About Us
Each day at Rosie’s Farm Sanctuary, we aim to educate the public about the suffering of billions of individuals abused by animal agriculture — and inspire others to help us bring about an end to that suffering. You can make a difference, too!
Mission
To inspire compassion in the hearts of all people and be the voice for animals by rescuing and rehabilitating farm animals, and providing educational programs and advocacy.
Vision
A world where no animal suffers to produce products for human use.
Values
Compassion I Education I Advocacy I Equity I Kindness
Who Is Rosie?
Three weeks after Michele, Craig, and their children first moved to Maryland in late 2020, they rescued a beautiful golden retriever named Rosie, for whom the farm is named.
Rosie came from a traumatic past in a backyard breeding operation. Watching her recover from trauma and blossom into a bright, joyful and loving dog was inspirational and is exactly the type of message we want the Rosie's Farm Sanctuary to convey.
With love and compassion, we all have the capacity to heal and flourish.
Founders
Michele Waldman
Founder & President
Founder
Founder and President of Rosie's Farm Sanctuary. Michele is a licensed psychotherapist focusing on trauma and relationship issues. Michele graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies, hence her love of nature and ecology. She received a Master's in Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integrated Studies in San Francisco and a Master's in Latin American Studies with a focus in International Marketing from UCLA. Michele also trained with Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Michele was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and spent her childhood in Australia. She has worked and lived in 40 countries around the world.
Michele
Michele is deeply involved with animal activism and animal rights. She was first made aware of the suffering of animals in the food industry by PETA when she was a student at UC Berkeley. She became a vegetarian right away and became vegan later in life – after learning about the atrocities of the dairy and egg industries. Michele started her journey in animal activism by volunteering at animal sanctuaries in California and helping to rescue calves from the dairy industry. It was her lifelong dream to open an animal sanctuary.
Co-Founder
Craig Waldman
Co-Founder
Co-Founder
Craig's day job is as co-chair of Jones Day's global Antitrust & Competition Law Practice. Craig has more than 20 years of experience representing companies in antitrust government investigations and private litigations and counseling them on how to manage antitrust risk in daily business activities. He has served as an adjunct professor at both Berkeley and Hastings Law Schools, has lectured at Stanford Business School, and has served in numerous roles within ABA Antitrust Leadership. In addition to his legal work, Craig is passionate about charitable endeavors. For over ten years, he has served on the board of directors of Global Strategies, an international charity whose mission is to reduce early mortality and treat survivors of sexual violence in impoverished and war-torn regions of Africa.
"I was an avid meat-eater until November 2019 when Michele, my wife (and co-Founder) cleverly "suggested" I watch the Game Changers documentary. That movie caused me to commit to being a vegan for a month. At the end of that month, after feeling much healthier and using the time to open my eyes, mind, and heart to the horrific harm that comes to animals, I decided to keep going. Three years later, I remain a vegan."
-Craig Waldman
Director of Outreach and Advocay
Benjamin Waldman
Director of Outreach and Advocacy
Benjamin is an avid animal lover. He started photographing wild animals in Africa when he was eight years old as well as writing beautiful poems about animals and nature. He initially became vegetarian at age eight but once he learned about the plight of animals in the dairy industry, he became vegan. He was instrumental in the rescue and liberation of two dairy calves. Benjamin is a musician, soccer player, and is currently in 8th grade.
"In 2nd grade, I had thoughts of becoming vegetarian, encouraged by my classmate who was vegan, and my Mom. It was not until my family and I took a trip to South Africa in April 2018, where the lush beauty and diverse animals inspired me to commit to becoming vegetarian. One year later, I took a tour of sanctuaries in California with my mom. That trip showed me of the distress and pain that not only the meat industries were causing to farm animals, but also the dairies. I became vegan because of what I learned in the sanctuaries. I also got inspired by them to help save the lives of two cows, Simon and Tony, who both currently live in California, happy to be free."
-Benjamin Waldman
Team
Farm Manager
and PR Director
Jason Bolalek
Farm Manager & PR Director
Jason began getting involved in animal rescue in 2019. While living in Vermont, he learned the harsh realities of dairy production. Coming face to face with these truths motivated him to start Destination Liberation, an organization that rescues, transports, and homes calves (mostly male) that are deemed waste products by dairy farms. Jason has to-date rescued and transported around 75 calves to sanctuaries and private homes all over the United States. Jason's story and liberations have been featured by news organizations, including Dodo, We Animals Media, Now This News , and The Guardian.
"I am extremely passionate about my mission and hope to inspire others by creating a thriving, diverse community where we can connect and learn from each other. I believe that empathy functions like a muscle and that we can create a better world by encouraging and fostering it to grow in others around us. My goal at Rosie's is to connect the public with the animals (individuals) that they are intentionally being disconnected from by the industries that exploit them, but to create awareness about similar systems of oppression, how they are all connected, and how we can work to dismantle them."
-Jason Bolalek
Nonprofit Management Consultant
Wendy Finn
Nonprofit Management Consultant
Wendy has always been an animal lover. She started as a vegetarian as a teenager. She became involved with dog rescue, initially as a foster, and later as an adoption coordinator, operations director, and president of the largest breed-specific rescue in the country. In addition, she has held leadership roles in several other nonprofits and completed the Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate at Georgetown University.
More recently, Wendy began to visit farm animal sanctuaries and became vegan. She initially visited Rosie’s to meet the animals, met Michele and Jason, and was inspired to be part of the organization’s mission. She is honored to play a role in strengthening Rosie’s operations and moving the organization to nonprofit best practices. In addition to her work with Rosie’s, Wendy is engaged in animal advocacy with a national organization, serves as an advisor to other nonprofits, and continues to foster homeless dogs.
"I love working with Rosie's to bring a message of compassion and caring to more people. I do not think people truly grasp the pain and suffering involved with animal agriculture. Becoming vegan will not only save animal lives but is also critically important to slowing climate change and improving our health. "
-Wendy Finn