Jennifer Hillman, Chair

Jennifer Hillman is Vice President of Wildlife Protection for the Humane Society of the United States. She began her political advocacy career overseeing the grassroots lobbying and fundraising arm of Greenpeace USA in the state of Washington. After transitioning to the animal protection field, she worked for and served as a volunteer board member for several Washington-based animal organizations. Hillman began working for the HSUS in 2004 and successfully lobbied the passage of several state bills including the nation’s strongest ban on exotic pet ownership, an increase in penalties for animal fighting and a bill to crack down on puppy mills. As Director of Ballot Campaigns for the HSUS, she worked on the successful passage of citizen’s initiatives to protect animals in numerous states. As VP of Wildlife Protection, she currently oversees the HSUS’ policy and program work to protect wildlife in the United States. She is a founding member of HVW.

Jenn Forbes, Vice Chair

Jenn Forbes joined HVW in 2019, and has since grown the committee’s social media presence three-fold and introduced HVW’s popular election “quick guide”. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Washington and had brief stints managing political campaigns, working for elected officials and coordinating the Seattle Goose Program—a joint venture between the Seattle Parks Department and humane organizations to implement non-lethal control methods for Canada Geese—before entering law school at Lewis and Clark Law School. There she studied animal and environmental law, and had leadership roles in student government, the Animal Law Review and in the Animal Law Clinic. Since law school she’s worked in PETA’s Cruelty Investigations Department, where she works daily to rescue animals from hideous and seemingly hopeless situations.

Alyne Fortgang, Founding Member

Alyne Fortgang is a retired entrepreneur and animal advocate. After selling her well-known map company, King of the Road, in 1999, she began working in animal advocacy, volunteering at the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and at WAIF, the animal shelter on Whidbey Island. After many years of volunteering at Pasado’s Safe Haven, she joined the Board of Directors. In 2006, she co-founded Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants and lead the decade-long effort to retire the elephants at Woodland Park Zoo to an accredited sanctuary. She joined HVW in 2017, is on the Advisory Board of World Elephant Alliance and always has various animal related projects in the works.

Christie Lagally, Secretary and Founding Member

Christie Lagally is a long-time advocate for women rights, voting rights and animal protection. She is the founder and CEO of Rebellyous Foods, a food production technology company working to make plant-based meat price-competitive with traditional chicken products. Ms. Lagally is a mechanical engineer and holder of multiple patents in manufacturing technology. She spent much of her career in the aerospace industry working on commercial airplanes and spacecraft in testing, design, and manufacturing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Previously, Ms. Lagally served as a Senior Scientist for the Good Food Institute uncovering the technical barriers in the development of plant-based meat and clean meat (i.e. cultured meat). Ms. Lagally holds Bachelor’s degrees in Organizational Psychology and Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering. In addition to serving on the board of HVW, she is an active member of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, a board member for Pasado’s Safe Haven (an animal sanctuary in Washington State) and serves as a Washington State Council Member for the Humane Society of the United States.