Dr. Joanne Kong

Dr. Joanne Kong is widely recognized as one of the nation’s most compelling advocates for plant sourced nutrition and compassionate living. Her work raises ethical awareness around animal welfare, environmental stewardship, and the power of everyday choices to create meaningful global change.

Her presentations have been described as:

  • “A positive message about how daily choices can make the world better for others and ourselves”

  • “Encouraging real and lasting positive change”

  • “Enlightening and provocative”

Speaking Engagements & Festivals

Dr. Kong has appeared at numerous national and international events, including:

  • San Francisco World Veg Fest

  • Veggie Pride Parade

  • NAVS Vegan Summerfest

  • Sedona Veg Fest

  • Spokane VegFest

  • Cincy VegFest

  • Richmond Vegetarian Festival

  • Oakland VegFest

  • Red & Green VegFest

  • Asheville VegFest

  • Sarasota VegFest

  • VegFest Colorado

  • Friends Not Food Festival

  • Milwaukee Veg Expo

  • Eugene Veg Education Network

  • PCRM Plant Based Climate Summit

  • Climate Healers Vegan World Conference 2026

  • Compassion Arts Festival

She has also spoken at institutions such as:

  • College of William and Mary

  • Rollins College

  • Ohio State University

  • Brigham Young University

  • University of Washington

  • New York University

  • Tufts University

  • MIT

  • University of Southern California

  • University of Pennsylvania

  • Yale University

Media, Writing & Recognition

  • Author of If You’ve Ever Loved an Animal, Go Vegan

  • Editor of Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers (Lantern Publishing & Media, 2021)

  • Featured in Legends of Change highlighting women transforming the world through vegan advocacy

  • Speaker with the American Vegan Society Speakers Bureau

  • Her TEDx talk on veganism has surpassed 1,000,000 views and is featured internationally

Dr. Michael Klaper highlighted her work in his 2018 newsletter, People Who Give Me Hope.

International Advocacy & Film Work

Dr. Kong has delivered presentations across Italy, Spain, Germany, Norway, Canada, and India, including a three week, ten city tour promoting veganism.

She appears in the documentary Eating Our Way to Extinction, narrated by Kate Winslet, and produced the video An Urgent Plea for Healing: Cherish All Animals. She is also the recipient of the Sustainability Leadership Award from the University of Richmond.

Advisory Roles & Creative Work

Dr. Kong serves on:

  • The Advisory Board of River’s Wish Animal Sanctuary

  • The Advisory Council of Lantern Publishing & Media

In addition to her advocacy work, she is a critically acclaimed and award winning classical pianist. She served as Assistant Producer and Classical Music Consultant for the documentary Taking Note, exploring the intersection of animal rights and music.

She is also a founding member of VEGAN VIRTUOSI, alongside vegan cellist Christoph Wagner, using music as a powerful tool to inspire compassion and awareness.

Advocacy Activities

FESTIVAL  PRESENTATIONS

VegFest Colorado

Oakland VegFest

Milwaukee Veg Expo

Spokane VegFest

Green Festival Expo (Washington D. C.)

Green Food Fest (Jessheim, Norway)

San Francisco World Veg Festival

Sedona VegFest

Cincy (Cincinnati) VegFest

Sarasota Veg Fest

Hampton Roads VegFest

Compassion Arts Festival

 

Asheville VegFest

Vegan Roots Festival (Charlottesville)

Friends Not Food

Richmond Vegetarian Festival

Compassionfest (Camden, CT)

NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest, 2018 and 2019

Satvik Vegan Festival (India)

Red & Green VegFest (Albuquerque)

VeggieWorld Turin (Italy)

Veganes Sommerfest (Berlin, Germany)

VeggieWorld Barcelona (Spain)

International Vegan Alliance Virtual Vegan Summit – Honourable Guest Speaker

SPECIAL  EVENTS and FUNDRAISERS

Chrysalis Institute

Eugene Veg Educational Network (EVEN)

Vegetarian Society of Richmond

Compassionfest Potluck (New Haven, CT)

Peace Advocacy Network Vegan Pledge Program

National Animal Rights Day, 2017 and 2018

Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS)

Book Signings for Legends of Change: The Unstoppable Rise of Veganism   

Plant Powered Metro New York, Earth Day Webinar

Last Lecture, posted in Eating Animals Causes Pandemics

Northwest Veg, Vancouver

Creating Peace Reading Circle

Cupid’s Landing fundraising presentations

Vegan Awareness Week, Asheville, NC

Earth Week, University of Richmond

Earth Day, Virginia Commonwealth University

Panel member for showings of Cowspiracy, Dominion                      

Northern Connecticut Vegetarian Society

Toronto Pig Save 

Veggie Pride Parade, New York City

Fiesta New Mexico Dental Association

Vegan World 2026! Convergence events

Richmond Environmental Film Festival

International Society for Music Education, The Plant-Based Musician          

SCHOOLS  & UNIVERSITIES

 Yale University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tufts University

New York University

University of Southern California

Ohio State University

College of William and Mary                                                         

Quinsigamond Community College                                                     

University of Virginia 

Oceanside High School, California

Open University

Rice University

University of Washington

Oregon State University

University of Richmond

Rollins College

Brigham Young University

Waring School

Maggie Walker Governor’s School

University of Pennsylvania

Northeastern University

Mt. Hebron High School

Horizons Summer Enrichment Program: Voices of Change

INTERVIEWS    &     PODCASTS

Vegan Nation WCUW 91.3 FM

WTVR-TV (Richmond, VA)

Johanna Sophia Raw Food Summit

iHeart Media

Indus TV, Pakistan: A Sustainable Diet

mamasezz.org Transformational Tuesday

Eugene Veg Education Network

Chef AJ LIVE!

Compassion Consortium

Hope for the Animals Podcast

Main Street Vegan Podcast

World Vegan Day (VCU)

PCRM Plant-Based Climate Summit

Jane Unchained, “The Influencers”

Our Hen House

Vegan Storyteller

The Exam Room with Chuck Carroll (PCRM)

That Minimal Life – All Things Sustainable

Peaceful Planet Foundation

Act for Climate Today!

Interviewed for Documentary Film Taking Note

Supreme Master Television: Musician with a Heart of Gold

Animal Concerns of Texas

Vegan Pulse

Pittsburgh Vegan Society

Peaceful Planet Foundation

Completely Rooted in Whole Foods

Plant-Powered: An Extraordinary Life Virtual Meetup

Friendsgiving Meet the Authors

Calling All Vegans

A PlantBasedDiet.org

Journey Through Health & Wellness

ReImagine the Turtle Creek Watershed & Airshed Communities

Vegan Mainstream Podcast

New England Veg Fest: The Arts for Animals

Food & Climate Working Group

United Poultry Concerns

Pittsburgh Vegan Society

PlantPure Houston

PETA Prime

MEDIA

BOOKS

 If You’ve Ever Loved an Animal, Go Vegan

Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers (Editor)

Vegan Made Easy: A Practical Guide to Plant-Based Eating (Coauthored with Camila Perussello)

Legends of Change: The Unstoppable Rise of Veganism (Profiled in book)

Satva, Shankar Narayan (Chapter)

The Humane Hoax, Hope Bohanec (Chapter)

 

FILMS

Eating Our Way to Extinction (Documentary appearance)

Panel member for showings of Cowspiracy, Dominion, Eating Our Way to Extinction

Special event via Zoom, Tiapapata Art Centre (Samoa), Eating Our Way to Extinction

Richmond Environmental Film Festival, Eating Our Way to Extinction

Taking Note (Documentary appearance)
Assistant Producer and Classical Music Consultant

“An Urgent Plea for Healing: Cherish All Animals” (Video)

ARTICLES                  

Humane Herald

End Animal Slaughter

Eugene Veg Education Network

Yogadas.org

Make a Momentum

New Mexico Vegan Magazine

Vegetarian Society of Southern Jersey

Vegan Sustainability Magazine

The Plant Based World Newsletter

All-Creatures.org

thehealthy.com

Vegan Action

Starfish Bobby Calf Project