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Christopher Merrow has been a team member at the PETA Foundation for 13 years, working his way up from tabling at the Warped Tour to becoming the foundation’s associate director of corporate giving—a role that allows his enthusiasm for new vegan products to shine. Christopher recently sat down with us to share his experiences working full-time for animals.

What is your favorite part of working for the PETA Foundation?

I love that we’re all united by one cause—to protect animals and promote kindness. The PETA Foundation also offers stellar benefits. It understands that all animals are sentient beings, so you can use your accrued sick leave to care for your animal companions and take them to the vet. You even get your birthday off.

Do you have any animal companions?

I have two adopted cats, Chip and Harvey, and I recently discovered a spider living in my bathroom—does that count? I named Harvey after the 2017 hurricane that devastated areas of Texas and Louisiana. He was one of 67 cats and dogs PETA rescued from affected areas. As an honorary member of PETA’s Animal Rescue Team, I brought Harvey home with me. I also occasionally foster dogs rescued by PETA.

What’s your favorite company partnership that you’ve launched in your current role?

It’s definitely the epic collaboration with PIZZANISTA!—a Los Angeles–based pizza joint with some delicious vegan options, such as a mac ’n’ cheese pizza. We teamed up with PIZZANISTA!, legendary musician Joan Jett, and vegan brand Miyoko’s Creamery to launch a stellar heart-shaped pizza—in honor of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts—just in time for Valentine’s Day. To mark the occasion, PIZZANISTA! painted its entire building “PETA Blue”—the exact shade of PETA’s logo. The exclusive pizza featured a black heart-shaped crust made with activated charcoal and came in a matching heart-shaped pizza box. For each Black Heart Pizza sold, $2 was donated to PETA to support its vital work for animals. PETA members also got a 20% discount by showing their membership card at checkout.

Work for PETA

Do you have a favorite memory of working here?

There are far too many to mention them all, but one highlight was being profiled in Racked when I went inside a giant inflatable snow globe in Beverly Hills and beat a fake sheep to persuade people to stop wearing wool. I also can’t forget the time I joined the team in parts of Texas and Louisiana that were devastated by Hurricane Harvey. We went to areas where flooding was so high that it reached the second stories of houses. I steered the boat while searching for stranded animals. It was a wild experience being above submerged cars, playgrounds, etc. We rescued many abandoned animals who were struggling to survive and helped others in nonflooded areas. At one house, we rescued a dog who’d been floating on a sofa cushion for days. It was such a rewarding experience.

What made you want to work for PETA/the PETA Foundation?

I couldn’t have discovered a more perfect position in my early 20s than as a concert tour crew member for peta2. My role combined my love of activism, pop punk music, and traveling. Every day at work was a fun and challenging adventure. I traveled the country with a team of activists who had as many animal rights tattoos as I did. Being around like-minded people was a different experience for me. For the first time ever, I felt like I fit in. Our team reached huge audiences on the Warped Tour and at other festivals. In my current position on the Corporate Giving team, I work with the best companies in the world that help fund PETA’s important work. It’s really exciting and rewarding—and the Corporate Giving team is hiring! Check out our open position here.

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