Heidi has been interested in animal rights and advocacy for many years, and pursuing the LLM degree will allow her to turn that interest into a meaningful career.
Heidi began working with animals as a volunteer dog-walker at the local animal shelter while she was an undergraduate student. Later, she also served as a volunteer with Foothills Animal Shelter and Luvin’ Arms Animal Sanctuary in Colorado.
Heidi received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2023. During her time in law school, Heidi took several courses in the Animal Law Program, and was a member of the school’s chapter of Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF). Heidi also authored a paper, Retribution or Rehabilitation: Alternative Approaches in Animal Maltreatment Cases, which was selected as a part of a symposium presentation at the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS) annual conference in spring of 2024.
Heidi’s background also includes a Master of Arts degree in Forensic Psychology, and over a decade of professional experience in the criminal legal system. She hopes to take the knowledge and experience she garnered from those areas and will combine it with the knowledge and experience she will gain in animal law. Ultimately, Heidi hopes to be a legal advocate for animal activists who do the important work of rescuing animals from factory farms, laboratories, and other harmful places. Heidi also has a long-term goal of pursuing a career in academia to be able to educate, empower, and prepare the next generations of animal advocates and social justice warriors.