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 more compassionate and equitable world where animals are treated with respect, dignity, and consideration.
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. Four years later, I remain a vegan."
-Craig Waldman
Team
Victoria Prasad
Sanctuary Manager
Victoria is a lifelong animal lover and has been working with animals for the past 10 years. She started as a dog walker and pet caregiver in Boston, helping her sister manage her company, FreedomTail. In the last 4 years, she has been working in animal sheltering at DC’s Humane Rescue Alliance and more specifically leading a team of staff and volunteers with the goal of ending animal homelessness and suffering in our community. Victoria is passionate about advocating for animals and providing a better life for them by allowing them agency and learning how to provide for their needs as individuals. She is working towards a training certification with a specific interest in positive reinforcement training of multiple species through Karen Pryor Academy to help achieve her goals of finding effective and humane ways to communicate with her animal family and friends. At Rosie’s, Victoria hopes to bring together her love of animals and passion for building community by creating a welcoming, enriching and safe environment for all residents and visitors alike.
Victoria lives with her partner, Nat, and their five pets; Cats: Cannoli, Shoe and Suki, Dog: Bug and 20-year-old Cockatiel: Oskar. At home, she loves to cook, bake and experiment with vegan recipes to share with her friends and family.
"I am so excited to be joining Team Rosie’s! I’m passionate about ending animal suffering and advocating for the animals and humans that the factory farming industry exploits. I believe that the individual relationships we have with the beings in our lives, both animal and human, are the most important part of being alive and that sharing individual experiences and making connections with each other is how to make a positive difference towards a more empathetic world."
Carrie Frey
Communications and Development Manager
Carrie has been involved in animal rescue and animal activism for over four decades. At the age of 10, she spontaneously associated the steak on her plate at dinner with some cows she had seen earlier in the day and from that moment on, she, her mother, and her sister all became vegetarian. As they became more educated on the cruelty of the dairy and egg industries, they embraced veganism. At the University of Pennsylvania where she received her B.A. in Communications and English in 1996, Carrie was the President of Penn Students for Animal Rights and completed internships at PETA and HSUS. For years she worked in Marketing at Animal Planet/Discovery and has since gone on to earn an integrative nutrition certificate with a focus on plant-based nutrition. She loves cooking, baking, and sharing delicious vegan recipes and taking people on “grocery store tours” to learn more about compassionate food choices. She is also very involved in companion animal rescue, serving as the President of the Board of Directors of PetConnect Rescue, and adopted Rosie to the Waldman family.
“I love showing people how easy it can be to make more compassionate choices in their diet and lifestyle and the benefits it brings to their health, the Earth, and the animals. By the same token, I love inspiring people to connect with animals to help change the belief systems that consider one type as companions and the other as food. Rosie’s is the perfect place to do this work!”
Joddie Zeng
Animal Health Specialist and Human Ambassador (Tour Guide)
Joddie’s journey started the first time she volunteered at a farm animal sanctuary and found herself falling in love with pigs. From there, she transferred to the University of Maryland to pursue a bachelor’s degree of Animal Science, partook in multiple animal care internships, and began working with animals full time. She is trained as a veterinary technician at a small animal clinic, but her heart always brings her back to large animals. When she is not working, she is out hiking with her husky, Fiona, or hanging with her senior cat.
“My greatest privilege in life continues to be working with animals and learning to meet their individual needs. I am passionate about providing proper customized husbandry, healthcare, and enrichment to every animal I work with.”
Sonali Motha
LEAP Program Educator and Human Ambassador (Tour Guide)
Sonali embraced a vegan lifestyle after learning the stories of the animals who live at Rosie’s on a tour. She has been in the DC area since the age of 12, and her parents were first generation immigrants from Sri Lanka. She currently lives in Glover Park with her
husband, Danny, her human son, Kai (13), and her canine son, Kingston (4). Sonali has worked in education for the last 30 years mainly in Montgomery County Public Schools. During that time she taught middle and high school math at a special school for students with emotional and behavioral needs, as well as worked as a behavior specialist supporting programs for students with emotional and behavioral needs. Currently, Sonali supports PreK staff and students to help children who are having difficulty adjusting to school. In her free time she loves to travel, walk, cook, and be with her family and friends. One of her passions is traveling to different places to see animals. Finding Rosie’s and learning about all the beautiful animal residents has had a profound impact on her life, and she’s honored to be a part of Rosie’s now.
“I love introducing people to the wonderful animals at Rosie's. I hope that by meeting these beautiful beings and hearing about their stories people will make choices that better align with their own beliefs.”