Aryenish's Bio

Amruza (Aryenish) Birdie, M.A., was the founder and executive director of Encompass, an organization that helped make the farmed animal protection movement more effective by fostering racial equity.

Prior to founding Encompass, Amruza spent seven years at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine promoting alternatives to animal tests. As a federal lobbyist, she was part of a four-woman team instrumental in reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act to ensure that animal protection language was integrated into the law. Because of her work on this effort, she was invited by the White House to watch President Obama sign the bill into law.

In addition to her more than two decades of experience in animal protection, Amruza has worked in other social justice movements, including those striving for racial equity, queer rights, and reproductive freedom.

She has appeared on and written for numerous outlets, including Bloomberg BNA, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, New York Daily News, Colorlines, and Dawn News—Pakistan’s largest English media group.

Amruza received an interdisciplinary Bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College in critical social thought/race and feminist theory. She used a sociological and philosophical lens to write her thesis on how systems of oppression manifest and take root in society and individuals.

Amruza completed her Master’s degree, magna cum laude, in Public Management from Johns Hopkins University and was awarded the Harold Seidman Award for outstanding thesis in policy and administration.