Director's Statement
What is The World Animal Awareness Society - WA2S.org?
A few years ago, I went down to New Orleans to document the rescue efforts after Katrina. What I discovered was an entire world I had no idea existed and most people never pay attention to: the world of animal rescue. Here were these people, risking everything, sometimes even their lives, to rescue these animals.
This set me on a journey; a journey to discover the many ways humans and non-human animals relate. Through the WA2S, I plan on scouring the nation for stories to film about this relationship.
The World Animal Awareness Society will produce 1000 hours of footage concentrating on contemporary human-
animal events.
By producing compelling documentaries to be shared with the world and providing raw aggregateable footage to educational institutions for further research, the World Animal Awareness Society will accomplish its mission of greater human awareness.
This is not an animal rights initiative, but an animal awareness one. I am not looking to take sides, but to see what the sides are. I’m a free agent, looking for facts and stories about how humans interact with animals in contemporary America.
Please join me in creating a powerful new voice in human-animal evolution by making a donation today.
Founder,
MISSION
The mission of the World Animal Awareness Society is to focus a lens on a wide range of human-animal interactions in order to have a filmed record of our behavior in expectation that it will create a window to observe human evolution.
The moving image is arguably the rawest, most powerful educational tool we have to witness our behavioral patterns, attitudes and interactions and aid us in our continued growth.
The World Animal Awareness Society will produce over 1000 hours of footage in the first year concentrating on contemporary human-
animal events. Headline issues such as the roundup of wild mustangs, the proliferation of puppy mills, animal fur trade, factory farming, ritualistic and sacrificial animal slaughter as well as less covered events such as animal hoarding.
By producing compelling documentaries to be shared with the world and providing raw aggregateable footage to educational institutions for further research, the World Animal Awareness Society will accomplish its mission of greater human awareness.
Please join me in creating a powerful new voice in human-animal evolution by making a donation today.
Founder,
The Board
John Phillips
John Phillips is the co-founder and executive director of the New York League of Humane Voters (NYLHV). John is a well-known figure at City Hall and in Albany and a nationally-recognized leader in the animal protection movement. Hailed by Governor David Paterson (D-NY) as one of the "great animal rights activists" in the U.S., his efforts to pass laws protecting animals have earned him numerous accolades and awards from the U.S. Congress, the New York State Legislature and the New York City Council. In March 2009, John was named one of the “20 Under 30 Standout Stars” of the animal protection movement by VegNews Magazine, the premier magazine covering vegetarian issues and animal welfare.
Ken Shapiro
Kenneth Shapiro earned his BA from Harvard University and his PhD in clinical psychology from Duke University. He is cofounder of Animals and Society Institute, formerly Psychologists for the Ethical treatment of Animals. He is founder and editor of Society and Animals: Journal of Human-Animal Studies; cofounder and coeditor of Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science; and editor of the Brill Human-Animal Studies book series. His most recent book is Animal Models of Human Psychology: Critique of Science, Ethics and Policy. He is one of the developers of AniCare and AniCare Child, the only psychological treatment models for animal abusers, and trains therapists throughout the country on the use of these models.
Dorothy Davies
Dorothy Davies is a founder and Director of SASHA Farm, one of the Midwest's largest farm animal sanctuaries. At SASHA, not only do they provide food and water, veterinary care and a roof over their heads, they also give the animal residents affection, social interaction with others of their own species, and a sense of security.
Kevin McNeill
Kevin McNeill is the Secretary/Treasurer of Second Chance Humane Society in Ridgway, Colorado. Second Chance has been working with the Ouray and San Miguel County communities and beyond since 1994 to address the needs of homeless pets of this region. They have grown from a small grassroots volunteer driven foster care program to an established organization with a fully staffed shelter and thrift shop and numerous community services. In addition to operating their shelter at a greater capacity than ever before, they rehabilitate, re-home, and nurture hundreds of homeless pets a year. They also operate critical spay/neuter and other prevention programs on a daily basis. Prior to retirement, Kevin was the Program Manager of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at Lockheed Martin Corporation and was involved in space exploration programs for 25 years.
Executive Director
Tom McPhee
Prior to founding The World Animal Awareness Society (WA2S), Tom McPhee had been an award-winning producer & director of film, TV, multi-language interactive media, as well as a specialty film/media distributor, all within the last twenty years. Tom began his professional career in 1984 working as a marketing specialist in Delaware politics. Following a few highly successful years in mid-range computer hardware and software sales for a Fortune 100 service company, 1991 saw the advent of Tom’s cutting edge digital interactive software company MultiDynamics, Inc., with a focus on the development and production of multi-language interactive software. Following the sale of MultiDynamics, Inc. to a Toronto based company, Tom produced his first independent feature film with indie cult film icon, Bruce Campbell. In 1998 Tom was called an Innovator by Movie Maker Magazine for his creation of flixtour, a new film distribution model – ‘the premiere indie film tour of the 90’s”. Tom McPhee is the owner of 2 media companies, Cave Studio (HD cameras, HD production and post-production tools and services) & Man Smiling Moving Pictures (film and TV production company). Over the last 4 years, buoyed by his documentary, An American Opera: The Greatest Pet Rescue Ever! (a popular selection of 26 film festivals on 4 continents winning 5 awards) Tom has organically navigated toward developing filmed content with a focus on animal/pet-centric themes. Tom served as producer and host/character on two animal-centric TV shows in 2009 for Canada’s The Pet Network, they were; Tom McPhee's Rescue Journal, a continuation of his work on An American Opera and Rock N' Roll Dogs, a new type of animal show aimed squarely at the funny bone of teen boys.
