On Giving Tuesday 2020, Born Free USA hosted an uplifting virtual benefit to support our lifesaving animal protection programs. The event featured the talented celebrities and prominent animal activists Rocky Dawuni, GRAMMY-nominated Afro Roots musician; Abigail Spencer, actress, producer, and activist; Carla Fraser, actress and activist; Miriam Margolyes OBE, actress; Virginia McKenna OBE, Born Free Co-Founder and Trustee; Will Travers OBE, Born Free Co-Founder and Executive President; Angela Grimes, Born Free USA CEO; Dr. Liz Tyson, Born Free USA Programs Director; and a live performance by singer Tiger Darrow! We invite you to watch the recording and share it on your social media.

Rocky Dawuni, GRAMMY-nominated Afro Roots musician

Rocky Dawuni is a GRAMMY-nominated Ghanaian-born Afro Roots Reggae musician, activist, UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment for Africa, and Global Ambassador for the UN Foundation’s Clean Cooking Alliance alongside actress Julia Roberts and Chef Jose Andres. Through these designations, he uses his music to shine a light on crucial issues facing humanity across the globe through live concerts, speaking roles, panels, youth empowerment, and leadership circles.

A galvanizing performer, Rocky has shared the stage with Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, Jason Mraz, Janelle Monáe and John Legend. Named one of Africa’s Top 10 global stars by CNN, he has showcased his talent at prestigious venues such as The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Hollywood Bowl.

In 2020, Rocky is spearheading two environmental and humanitarian initiatives. The first is a landscape restoration project to plant 100,000 trees in Accra, Ghana to help offset the impact of climate change. Rocky is also overseeing the development of a series of “cultural incubators” for youth that will allow for community outreach and educational opportunities.

Born Free USA is currently working in collaboration with Rocky to develop outreach and youth engagement strategies supporting the Ghanaian authorities in the efforts they lead to tackle wildlife crime.

Visit rockydawuni.com to learn more. Photo by Robert Kozek.

Abigail Spencer, Actress, Producer, and Activist

An actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer on the stage and both the big and small screen, Abigail Spencer recently starred in Josh Corbin and Director Jonathan van Tulleken’s Reprisal, alongside Mena Massoud and Rodrigo Santoro. A+E and The Littlefield Company (The Handmaids Tale) produced for Hulu. Recent roles include the pivotal character, “Donna,” on YouTube Premium’s new dark comedy, Wayne, the lead of NBC’s fan-favorite, action-adventure drama, Timeless, and “Dana Scott” on the USA hit series Suits. Spencer received rave reviews and a Critics Choice Television Award nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for her her role as “Amantha” on Sundance TV’s and now Netflix’s critically acclaimed and Peabody Award winning drama, Rectify. Other credits include: “Suzanne, The Teacher” on Season 3 of Mad Men, Oz: The Great and Powerful, This Means War, This Is Where I Leave You, Cowboys and Aliens, Grey’s Anatomy, Burning Love, Children’s Hospital, and True Detective. Along with having several projects in development on both sides of the camera, Abigail is more lovingly known as Mom to her 11 year old son Roman and recently began her Floral Company and Florista Service, County Line Florals in loving memory of her late, champion surfing father, Yancy Spencer III. Follow Abigail on Instagram: @countylineflorals, @abigailspencer.

Carla Fraser, Actress and Activist

Carla is a proactive, passionate actress, producer, writer, as well as a conservationist and ambassador for animal charities. Since childhood, Carla has been infatuated with animals, became a vegan in her youth, and is now heavily involved in conservation and animal welfare. She wrote and produced the short film, Grey Future, that portrays a devastating future in which elephants and rhinos are extinct due to the current poaching epidemic. Grey Future was screened at schools, government events, protests, and shared globally by celebrities, charities, and conservationists. Twinning her passions for acting and conservation, Carla teaches drama-led conservation workshops for schools, universities, and even for Born Free! Carla’s most recent short film, Wings, stars Born Free co-Founder and BAFTA-award winner, Virginia McKenna, along with Miriam Margolyes from the Harry Potter movies and Rosie Day from Outlander. Wings has won film awards internationally, as well as a place on the Channel 4 network in the UK. For a quick peek at the film, click here.

Tiger Darrow, Singer and Songwriter

Tiger Darrow is an award-winning singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actress. Beginning her career as a classically trained cellist, Tiger crafts her songs with intricate string arrangements and distorted beats, fusing the aggressive with the delicate. As a vocalist and performer, Tiger has been featured in dozens of artists’ music and her voice and music have also been featured in a variety of soundtracks and commercials such as Robert Rodriguez’s Machete and Red 11, The Magicians, the History Channel’s Nelson Mandela Redrawn, and the award-winning Sci-Fi film, Sunspring. She has also opened for artists such as Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians, The Eagles, and Erykah Badu. Tiger grew up on film sets, surrounded by a family of artists, including her mother, the actress Peyton Hayslip. Tiger grew up in Texas, not far from the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary. She has a deep love of wildlife and graciously donated the proceeds of her 2011 single, “Beautiful Release,” to Born Free. Tiger will perform during the 2020 “Hope for Wildlife” event with cellists Sasha Ono, Aya Terki, and Lydia Paulos.

Virginia McKenna OBE, Born Free Co-Founder and Trustee

Virginia McKenna OBE is a wildlife campaigner, actress and author, well known for starring as conservationist Joy Adamson in the 1966 film Born Free with her late husband, Bill Travers MBE.

Deeply immersed in animal conservation and welfare issues, Virginia co-founded Born Free in 1984 alongside her husband Bill and eldest son Will Travers OBE. The couple had been moved by the plight of Pole Pole, the elephant – who appeared alongside them in the film An Elephant Called Slowly – who was gifted to London Zoo by the Kenyan government following filming. Today, Virginia is still actively involved with Born Free and serves as a Trustee.

As an actress, Virginia’s leading film roles included The Cruel Sea, A Town Like Alice, for which she won a British Academy Award for Best Actress, Ring of Bright Water, and Carve Her Name With Pride. Her television appearances have included Romeo and Juliet, The Camomile Lawn, Kavanagh QC, The Deep Blue Sea, and The Whistleblower.

Virginia won the Society of West End Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in The King and I, opposite Yul Brynner. Other theater credits include I Capture the Castle, A Little Night Music, Hamlet, The Devils, The Beggar’s Opera, and a season with The Old Vic.

Virginia was awarded an OBE in 2004 for her contribution to the arts and animal welfare.

Will Travers OBE, Born Free Co-Founder and Executive President

Will Travers is an internationally-renowned wildlife expert who has dedicated his life to wildlife issues, since he lived in Kenya with his parents, Virginia McKenna and the late Bill Travers, who starred in the film Born Free (1966). In 1984, he and his parents co-founded the wildlife charitable organisation now known as The Born Free Foundation, which works to stop individual wild animal suffering, protect threatened species worldwide, and keep wildlife in the wild.

Will has been involved in rescuing elephants, tigers, lions, and dolphins, and is always willing to share his experience and knowledge to further Born Free’s vision for a more compassionate future.

Angela Grimes, Born Free USA CEO

Angela Grimes is Born Free USA’s Chief Executive Officer. She has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. Inspired by observing wildlife living freely in their jungle homes while volunteering for a sea turtle project in Costa Rica, Angela moved from arts administration to wildlife protection, where she has served in senior and executive level positions since 2004. She has a degree from Drake University. She has served on the boards of directors of several arts and animal welfare organizations and is currently on the board of EarthShare.

Dr. Liz Tyson, Born Free USA Programs Director

Dr. Liz Tyson, Born Free USA’s Programs Director, has helped animals across the globe. She helped to establish the very first locally-run sterilization program for street dogs in the Middle East; worked with indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon to end the hunting of wild primates; ran a UK charity campaigning to end the exploitation of animals in circuses and zoos; and helped design a new rehabilitation complex for rescued monkeys at Born Free’s sanctuary in Ethiopia, Ensessa Kotteh. In 2018, she earned her doctorate in Animal Welfare Law.

Liz recently published her book, Licensing Laws and Animal Welfare: The Legal Protection of Wild Animals, with Palgrave MacMillan/Springer Nature. The book outlines the findings of her doctoral research, which is the most comprehensive study of the legal protection of wild animals in English zoos carried out to date.