Zach Bennett joins the groups as Senior Policy Counsel and Don Green as Political Director.
Washington, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy announce the hiring of Zach Bennett as senior policy counsel and Don Green as political director.
Bennett and Green will be working on the federal legislative team to advance Animal Wellness Action’s robust federal policy and regulatory agenda. Green also will play a role in the group’s non-partisan candidate electioneering work, and that work will be especially robust now that the calendar has turned to the upcoming national elections.
Animal Wellness Action focuses on promoting legal standards against cruelty to animals and enforcement of those societal rules, while the Center for a Humane Economy works with corporations to include animal welfare thinking in their supply chains, R&D programs, and other operations. Both groups strive to create a humane economic and social order.
“I worked shoulder-to-shoulder last Congress with Zach and Don during their time with Senator Rand Paul and Representative Vern Buchanan, in leading efforts to pass the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 to eliminate an archaic animal-testing mandate for experimental drugs,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. “They worked expertly with committee staff and with lawmakers and their staff on both sides of the aisle to get that landmark legislation over the finish line in December 2022.”
“Each one brings legislative acumen, experience, and passion to animal welfare advocacy, and I am excited to work with both of them to pass legislation in this Congress to crack down on animal fighting, end horse slaughter for consumption, end greyhound racing, and advance other national priorities to make the world safer for animals and people,” added Pacelle.
Zach Bennett
Senior Policy Counsel
Zach is a former legislative counsel to Sen. Rand Paul, M.D., R-Ky., for whom he worked for five years, concentrating on health policy. Sen. Paul is a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Before turning to politics, Zach worked in development as assistant director of the Washington Fund at Washington College, among other private sector roles. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from Washington College, an M.A. from George Washington University, and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.
“I am excited and honored to join the organization behind the major federal animal welfare legislation of recent years,” said Bennett, who is a native of Hagerstown, Md. “I look forward to spreading the non-partisan message of conscious capitalism that the Center for a Humane Economy embraces, and Animal Wellness Action puts into meaningful public policy.”
Don Green
Political Director
Don is a former senior policy advisor to Congressman Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., for whom he worked on a wide range of animal policy measures over more than seven years. He also served John Linder, R-Ga., three other U.S. House members, and U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe in a congressional staff career spanning more than 25 years. He’s also worked on a U.S. Senate campaign and a presidential campaign and done private consulting on policy and government relations. Don holds a B.A. in history from Bates College.
“For nearly a decade, I’ve worked to address horse slaughter for human consumption, fund enforcement actions against dogfighting and cockfighting, and put an end to needless animal tests in favor of 21st-century science that is better for business and for patients,” Green said. “I’ve come to understand that when we work to unravel cruelty to animals in all its forms, we make the world better and safer for people, too.”
In addition to leading the FDA Modernization Act, Rep. Buchanan, during Don’s tenure, led the effort to pass the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act. Don also worked on Buchanan’s successful effort to pass the Rescuing Animals With Rewards Act, which Buchanan explained at the time “allows the State Department to offer rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of wildlife traffickers around the globe.”