2021 Animal Law Symposium

Presenters

Elenora L. Benz, Esq.

Elenora L. Benz, Esq., Newton

Gina A. Calogero, Esq.

Gina A. Calogero, Esq., Franklin

Raymond J. Lesniak, Esq

Raymond J. Lesniak Esq., Elizabeth

is founder and President of the Lesniak Institute for American Leadership, Kean University, in Union, New Jersey, which strives to develop the next generation of American leaders by teaching and celebrating the principles of effective advocacy. He is a former Senator in the New Jersey State Legislature, serving Legislative District 20 from 1984-2018, and had District Offices in Union and Elizabeth, New Jersey. He has been an attorney with Weiner Lesniak and served in the General Assembly from 1978-83 before being elected to the Senate in 1983.
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nSenator Lesniak has been Chair of the Economic Growth Committee, Vice Chair of the Commerce Committee and a member of the Judiciary Committee. Early in his tenure, he sponsored landmark environmental policies including the Environmental Cleanup Responsibility Act (ECRA), the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Pesticide Control Act, making New Jersey the first in the nation to tackle such issues. Senator Lesniak sponsored the law to legalize sports wagering at New Jersey casinos and racetracks, and has pushed to allow casinos in Atlantic City to expand their operations into intrastate Internet wagering. He sponsored the repeal of the death penalty, sponsored legislation to reform the criminal justice system, and has worked with the New Jersey Humane Society and other animal rights advocacy organizations on bills to prevent animal cruelty, including legislation banning the trade of ivory products, banning trophies of endangered species from entering New Jersey, ending the sale of shark fins in the state and ending the use of wild and exotic animals in traveling animal performance acts. Past Chair of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, he was also at the forefront of efforts to allow same-sex couples to marry in New Jersey.
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nSenator Lesniak is the author of The Road to Abolition: How New Jersey Abolished the Death Penalty and co-author, with Loretta Weinberg, of What’s Love Got to Do With It?: The Case for Same-Sex Marriage. He founded The Road to Justice and Peace, a non-profit organization devoted to promoting social justice causes in New Jersey and abroad, and Democrats for the Soul, a social charity. Senator Lesniak is working to ban puppy mills and gestation crates; end the bear hunt, killing contests, and unethical deer population management strategies; and establish a Courtroom Animal Advocacy Program (CAAP) in New Jersey. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Public Service Award from the Jewish Education Center, the Paul L. Troast Award for Distinguished Public Service from the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, and Legislator of the Year from the Medical Society of New Jersey.
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nSenator Lesniak received his A.B. from Rutgers University and his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law. He served as a Specialist Fourth Class in the United States Army from 1967-69.

Melissa A. Martinez, Esq.

Melissa A. Martinez, Esq., Haddonfield