May 20, 2025
Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) is thrilled to shine a spotlight on one of our dedicated volunteers, Rianna Engel. For about a year now, Rianna has been giving her time and energy to help CAA grow its compassionate community. Her involvement in CAA events, like the Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge planning committee, Vegan ThanksLiving potluck, Open Streets Lyndale, and the Vegan Chili Cook-Off, shows her commitment to building connections and spreading awareness about animal rights.
Discovering CAA Through Community Events
Rianna first learned about CAA through its fun and engaging events. “I was made aware by the fun events available to attend like the Vegan Chili Cook-Off and the Vegan Chef Challenge,” she shared. These events drew her in, but it was CAA’s mission and the kindness of its community that made her want to stay. She believes that these gatherings are vital for building a strong vegan community in the area, saying, “I’m so grateful that we have CAA to support our community and am continually impressed with the welcoming kindness and friendliness of everyone there.”
Volunteering to Build Community
During her time with CAA, Rianna has volunteered at a variety of events, including the ThanksLiving Potluck, Open Streets Lyndale, and the Vegan Chili Cook-Off. These roles allowed her to connect with like-minded individuals who share her passion for animal rights and plant-based living. “I have a desire to build connections with like-minded individuals, and these roles allowed me to do some networking!” she said. Her enthusiasm for building community is evident in the way she interacts with others at events, always welcoming newcomers with a friendly smile.
The Joy of Volunteering
For Rianna, the best part of volunteering is choosing to support a cause she truly believes in. “I think what I love most is the freedom to choose to serve a cause that is close to my heart and see others with that same love,” she shared. Her passion for animal advocacy shines through in every event she helps organize, making her a valuable CAA volunteer.
Life Beyond CAA
When she’s not volunteering with CAA, Rianna enjoys a variety of hobbies. She loves to dance, paddle board, and play Dungeons & Dragons with her friends. She also spends her time working on projects around the house or getting lost in a good book. Her vibrant personality and many interests make her a joy to work with at CAA events.
Inspired by Compassion
Rianna’s journey to veganism is inspired by her deep sense of compassion and spiritual connection to animals. “My sole inspiration to veganism is the spiritual and moral obligation to protect the souls who are voiceless in our world,” she explained. For her, animal rights go beyond food choices — “The animal kingdom has so many gifts and lessons to provide us, but first we must practice empathy and kindness.”
Looking Forward
Rianna is eagerly looking forward to this year’s Twin Cities Vegan Chef Challenge, excited to see the community come together once again to celebrate plant-based living. We are so grateful for her dedication and enthusiasm and are thrilled to have her as part of the CAA team. Her kindness, passion, and welcoming spirit help make CAA events a success, and we can’t wait to see the continued impact she will have.
Please join us in thanking Rianna Engel for her inspiring volunteer work. We are lucky to have her on our team!
Inspired by Rianna? Get Involved With CAA!
If Rianna’s story inspires you, consider volunteering with CAA, donating, or exploring creative ways to support the organization, like securing a matching grant through your employer. Together, we can create a more compassionate world for animals, people, and the planet.
Past Volunteer Spotlights
If you would like to get to know some other volunteers, check out other recent volunteer profiles:
Volunteer Spotlight on Magnus Larsson
Volunteer Spotlight on Ronan Magnus
Volunteer Spotlight on Kedar Deshpande
Volunteer Spotlight on Anna Larsson
Volunteer Spotlight on Alysia Nelson
Volunteer Spotlight on Tom Hoch
Volunteer Spotlight on Lexy Race
Volunteer Spotlight on Faustine Micheyls
Volunteer Spotlight on Grace Prins
Volunteer Spotlight on Kim Milligan
Volunteer Spotlight on Allison Gamble
The Mutual Benefits of Volunteering for CAA
Volunteers are key to everything we do. They help us to accomplish far more than we can do with our small staff and amplify our impact for animals. In 2024, our staff engaged over 280 volunteers, contributing more than 6,263 hours — a savings of over $125,000 if we had hired them. Learn more about volunteer impact every year in our annual reports.
Equally important is that the volunteers themself benefit from enhanced skills in advocacy and leadership as well as a sense of community. This fits with our theory of change which includes the following cyclical steps: increasing awareness, building community, empowering advocates, and creating change. Volunteering touches on each of these areas.
See all volunteer opportunities here.
CAA’s Theory of Change
Our theory of change emphasizes a welcoming approach, which is recognized as most effective at creating change and models the empathy we want to promote.
The theory explains how we achieve our mission to encourage people to embrace their empathy for animals and move toward a plant-based diet. It also supports our vision of a world where all animals, human and nonhuman, can thrive.
This change theory reflects how we grow our movement. Through our CAA programs, events, and activities, we facilitate a cyclical process of increasing awareness, building community, empowering advocates, and creating change. This process focuses on both individual and institutional change.
What kind of change do we create? Our programs reduce consumption of animal products and improve the lives of farmed animals. In addition, they benefit the well-being of all Minnesotans.
Compassionate Action for Animals’ theory of change was initially developed in 2017 with an online survey sent to key stakeholders, two town hall meetings open to the community members, and a strategic planning meeting attended by staff, core volunteers, and board members.
Get Involved and Volunteer With CAA
If you believe in our mission and our theory of change, we encourage you to get involved too. Sign up for one of our upcoming volunteer opportunities. There are so many fun events and options to choose from. Whatever your talents may be, you can find a volunteer opportunity that’s right for you — from photography to cooking and serving food, helping with setup and cleanup at events, greeting guests, and so much more.
