During its 2026 conference in Oklahoma City, Animal Grantmakers, philanthropy’s leading funder affinity group focused on protecting and enabling the wellbeing of all animals, presented the 2026 Animal Grantmakers Melanie Anderson Lifetime Excellence in Animal Protection (LEAP) Award to pioneering animal law attorney and advocate Joyce Tischler. Now in its fifth year, the award recognizes extraordinary contributions to the animal protection movement.

Known as “The Mother of Animal Law,” Tischler is widely regarded as one of the founders of the field of animal law and has spent decades advancing the legal interests and protection of animals.

Animal Grantmakers and the Summerlee Foundation, a founding member, established the LEAP Award in 2022 to honor Melanie Anderson, who served as the foundation’s director of animal programs for 32 years. The award recognizes animal advocates who have pushed boundaries, changed the conversation, and championed animals often neglected or overlooked.

“It is hard to imagine anyone who embodies that spirit more fully than Joyce,” said Jill Hoffman, Animal Grantmakers’ membership and communications consultant, who presented this year’s LEAP Award. “Joyce didn’t simply work within an existing field, she helped create one. After earning her law degree in 1977, she co-founded the Animal Legal Defense Fund in 1979, the first nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting animals through the legal system.”

Tischler also played an important role in the growth of animal law education, including decades of involvement with Lewis & Clark Law School. She supported the development of its Animal Law Review and student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter, and helped establish the Center for Animal Law Studies in 2008.

Later, Tischler joined Lewis & Clark as a professor, teaching and mentoring a new generation of animal advocates, including through courses such as Animal Law Fundamentals and Industrial Animal Agriculture Law. In June 2026, Tischler retired from full-time teaching after nearly 50 years of pioneering work on behalf of animals.

“Having started an organization in 1979, I really do understand the importance of funding – because we didn’t have any,” said Tischler. “We have something of great value to the animals and to grantmakers, so I deeply appreciate the honoring of my work by Animal Grantmakers, a catalyst for action in animal protection for more than a quarter century, and the Summerlee Foundation.”

Tischler saw possibilities for animals within the law that very few people saw nearly 50 years ago—and then spent nearly half a century turning those possibilities into institutions, scholarship, legal precedent, and generations of advocates who will carry that work forward.

The 2026 Animal Grantmakers Conference (AGCon), themed The Frontier of Animal Philanthropy, took place September 15–17, with conference sessions held at Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center. AGCon brought together animal-focused funders and non-profit leaders for a program examining the evolving animal protection landscape, emerging opportunities for philanthropic impact, and ways grantmakers can respond to some of the field’s most complex challenges. The annual gathering focuses on strengthening the effectiveness and impact of funding for animals of all types.

Journalist, author, and animal advocate Jane Velez-Mitchell, who gave an inspiring keynote at AGCon that morning, recorded Tischler’s award presentation and shared this powerful Reel on UnchainedTV’s Instagram page. UnchainedTV is Velez-Mitchell’s nonprofit streaming network, offering entirely free content about animal rights, animal welfare, and compassionate living.