Amy^ Quichiz:^ BridgetBadore;^Joshua^ Katcher:^ JaredCocken;^ Dotsie^ Bausch:John^ Segesta;^ MatthewKenney:^ Adrian^ Mueller46 VegNews HOLIDAYS 2019
movement throughout history, and
in 2019, they’re getting credit where
it’s due within the vegan movement,
too. Case in point: Amy Quichiz. The
24-year-old writer, educator, and
Latinx Queens native is the founder of
Veggie Mijas—a nationwide collective
of vegan women and non-binary
folks of color dedicated to improving
access to healthy plant foods and
fostering a community for vegans who
feel alienated from predominantly
white vegan spaces. Aside from
birthing this passionate, resource-
sharing, potlucking network, Quichiz
works to uplift her community with
self-care and wellness education,
strengthening the next generation of
vegan activists in the process. All this
while juggling a masters’ program
at NYU and an internship at the UN,
where she’s working to change the
world. Thanks to people like Quichiz,
and the many banners she carries,
we’re well on our way toward a kinder,
more inclusive future for everyone.THE DESIGNER
Joshua Katcher
³Joshua Katcher has come a long way
since first launching his upscale vegan
menswear label Brave GentleMan in- Last year, the ethical designer
reached both a fashion milestone,
when his line was featured by Vogue,
and a personal milestone, when
he published Fashion Animals—a
comprehensive and thoughtful book
that explores the use of animals
in fashion throughout history. In
2019, Katcher made headlines for
his lobbying efforts in support of a
proposal that would ban fur in New
York City; he dressed A-list clients
such as Liam Hemsworth and Alan
Cumming; and had his collection of
eco-conscious bamboo suits featured
at a vegan fashion show at New York
Fashion Week, hosted by Cumming.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Katcher’s
new startup RIND—crafting soft,
marbled, small-batch cheeses—began
popping up in artisanal cheese shops
and upscale restaurants. It’s both
the first step Katcher has taken out
from his already-dominated realm of
animal-free fashion, and a clear sign of
the limitless potential this vegan has to
change the world.THE OLYMPIAN
Dotsie Bausch
³Every two years, the world stops to
watch the heart-pounding triumphs
and gut-wrenching defeats playing out
in the Olympic arena. When the Games
cut to commercial, it’s not uncommon
to see a handful of Got Milk ads
featuring athletes like Aly Raisman or
Michael Phelps. But decorated Olympic
cyclist Dotsie Bausch is flipping the
script on dairy’s tired ad campaign
with Switch4Good—a plant-powered,
athlete-driven organization debunking
myths around dairy and athletic
performance. In 2018, NBC aired the
group’s pro-plant milk PSA on the East
Coast, infuriating the American dairy
industry and prompting a successful
effort to get the ad pulled before it
could air on the West Coast. That knee-
jerk reaction underscored the very
real threat that the vegan movement
wields to disrupt Big Dairy’s unhealthy
influence. When the silver medalist and
Switch4Good ambassador hits the raceJOSHUA
KATCHERAMY
QUICHIZ