OUR TEAM

Jill Ryther — CEO/Founder

Jill Ryther is the Founder and CEO of Expand Animal Rights Now (EARN) and an attorney specializing in Animal Rights Litigation.

Jill grew up in Michigan and graduated with honors from the University of Michigan, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree with a dual specialization in Political Science and English, along with a minor in Political Philosophy. While attending the University of Michigan, Jill was a member of many campus organizations and was the recipient of several distinguished scholarship and achievement awards. After graduating, Jill worked at a prestigious family law firm, Oyler and Woldman, in Santa Monica, California.

Jill subsequently attended UCLA School of Law, where she was President of the Mock Trial Association and won several awards in multiple competitions. Jill also served as the Communications Director for the Animal Law Society, and was featured in several newspapers and radio shows as the campus administrator for the Yes on Prop 2 Campaign. While in law school, Jill worked as a law clerk for the Los Angeles District Attorney in the Hardcore Gang Division for three years, conducting preliminary hearings in the courtroom and assisting in several murder jury trials against various Los Angeles gang members.

At UCLA, Jill took a class, “Animals and the Law” that changed her life. It was then that Jill realized she could combine her legal education with her love of animals to make a career out of ending the animal exploitation by being an activist attorney. Jill regularly speaks at conferences, law schools, and other events about her experience with animals and the law.

During her early career, Jill successfully defended well known animal rights activists, worked with animal rights educator, Ric O’Barry in Taiji, Japan to bring awareness to the dolphin slaughter (documented in The Cove), and worked with the Beagle Freedom Project on several rescues including the rescue of 41 Beagles from a laboratory in Spain. Jill has saved many dogs from dangerous dog hearings. She has successfully represented human companions of dogs that were injured by police officers. And she campaigned in West Hollywood to outlaw the sale of fur within the city limits.

Jill does not shy away from cases that are the first of their kind, and is known for getting judges as well as opposing attorneys to see animals as they truly are: not mere property as the law declares, but as the sentient family members that so many of us love and protect.

Jill is a proud long-time vegan and shares her home with two rescue dogs, one rescued off the streets in Texas, the other who was born just days after Jill pulled his mother out of Devore shelter where she was on the euthanasia list, and a rescue cat who was found as a kitten in a construction site.

AUTUMN WILLIAMS

Autumn grew up in Riverside County, California, where she graduated high school early to begin chasing her dream career of becoming an attorney. Upon high school graduation, she simultaneously attended Palomar College and Mount San Jacinto Community College to complete her general education requirements. Following this, she attended California State University, San Marcos where she graduated on the Dean’s List in 2021, majoring in Political Science.

She earned her Juris Doctorate from California Western School of Law in San Diego, where she graduated in 2024. During her time in law school, Autumn served as President of the school’s chapter of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund where she and her co-members hosted animal rights education events and fundraisers. Autumn also became a member of the Pro Bono Honors Society due to her work with the Center for Community Solutions—a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending relationship and sexual violence. Autumn additionally spent four months volunteering in the Domestic Violence Restraining Order Clinic offering free services to those seeking protections.

Autumn began volunteering with EARN in 2022. Since joining EARN full-time as a Board Member 2026, Autumn has participated in administrative hearings for dog bite incidents and provided trial support. She has contributed to the successful defense and release of dogs who otherwise would have been euthanized. Autumn has also taken part in high profile cases such as an arbitration against Rover and trial against the City of Burbank.

In her spare time Autumn enjoys going to the beach, cooking, and spending time with her two rescue dogs, Koda and Bodhi. Koda is a Labrador who has beaten cancer twice and had to have a lobe of his lung removed, and Bodhi is a Golden Retriever who was abandoned by his family with a pet sitter before finding his forever home with Autumn.

AMANDA FORTINO

Amanda graduated with honors from Grand Valley State University, receiving her Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Writing, and has been advocating for animals professionally for well over a decade. With experience as both a paralegal and fundraiser, she has worked in the nonprofit sector nearly 20 years. Amanda is thrilled to be a part of EARN, as the Development Director, as her true passion is helping both animals and the humans who love them. 

Amanda enjoys hiking, fostering animals, traveling, and reading. Amanda volunteers with local animal rescue groups and lives with her partner and rescued cat and dog. She remains an activist at heart and can be found volunteering for animal rights groups and rescuing companion animals.