"Tracey will just have to get used to it"

I suppose on some level I had known for many years that I needed to make changes in my life.  I needed to align my actions and my work with my core values.  And I just knew there was something bigger in store for me than what I was doing on my "traditional" career path.  There were multiple pivotal points along the way that led me to where I am today. But it was one moment in particular, while I was working for a global environmental conservation NGO, that I can point to which really catalyzed my desire to take action. Here's what happened... 

I was in Argentina as part of my job as a fundraiser for our Latin America Region. We were staying on a breathtakingly beautiful 400k+ acre ranch and hosting donors to our Patagonia conservation program, many of whom were ranchers back in the US. 

At dinner one night a few of the women were discussing some of their rather grotesque animal husbandry practices and I was aghast. I guess the revulsion showed on my face as one of them, knowing I was, at the time, vegetarian, said “Tracey’s not going to like hearing this.” At that point, another of the women turned in my direction and said “Well, Tracey will just have to get used to it.”

Wow! Are you kidding me? 

That was it!

She got it horribly wrong. I will NEVER get used to animal abuse! And although I had to bite my tongue sitting at the table that night (as one often has to do as a fundraiser in a big organization), it was at that moment I knew I had to leave. This job was destroying my soul. I was struggling mentally and physically. It had been made clear to me that I wasn't going to be able to change our organization's attitude toward the abuse of animals and the role of animal agriculture in climate change from within. Those two issues were critically important to me, so I needed to strike out on a different path. 

However, at the same time, I knew I couldn’t afford to stay in LA for very long if I weren't working full-time and maintaining a six-figure salary. I wasn't sure if and where I would find a job at that level with an organization to which I was better suited.  So that day I started making plans for my move to Italy.  

It took a few years. But I eventually quit my job. I sold my house. And in early 2016 I left Los Angeles and landed in Puglia (in Southern Italy) with my ex-husband and four rescued dogs (and my rescued fish) not knowing exactly what the future would hold. But I knew it would be something meaningful. And necessary.  And I was more certain than ever that I wanted to shake up the status quo. 

I've been a full-time advocate for animals ever since. And I have embarked on a number of entrepreneurial projects, each of which has the stated purpose of making the world a better place for animals...and consequently for us humans too. 

It's been a wild ride thus far. Far from easy. But I wouldn't change it for the world.

NEXT UP:  How I became a producer.