Michael Swistara

Michael is an attorney, independent scholar, and advocate fighting for animal liberation and against all forms of oppression. His academic work has addressed inter-disciplinary questions of justice; from advancing an anti-carceral vision of animal protection to applying the lessons of environmental justice to transportation racism. He has work experience at both large and small nonprofits working on litigation and policy work across a range of subjects that includes consumer protection, administrative rulemaking, constitutional defense, undercover investigations work, and legislative drafting. Michael also dedicates a substantial amount of his time volunteering for the causes of animal rights, climate justice, racial justice, and combating economic inequality.

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Michael currently lives in Chicago, Illinois with his companion cat Matilda. In his spare time he enjoys cooking delicious vegan meals, getting outside to run and cycle, playing board and video games, and reading both fiction and non-fiction.

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Disclaimer: This is a personal website, produced on my own time and solely reflecting my personal opinions. Statements on this site do not represent the views or policies of my employer or any other organization with which I may be affiliated.

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Land Acknowledgement: I acknowledge the land that I live on, now known as Chicago, is stolen land. I affirmed that the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi peoples are the rightful past, present, and future inhabitants of this land. Settler colonists killed and displaced many of these peoples away from historically important water sources on the lake and river. This is connected with the history of this nation being built with the stolen labor of enslaved African people on these lands. Any vision of an anti-carceral, anti-speciesist, just world must center racial justice. I acknowledge that Chicagoland is currently home to over 75,000 Indigenous peoples who maintain tribal cultures of over 150 nations.