Activists from animal rights organizations renewed their protests on campus this month over Trustee Kevin Brown’s alleged complicity in unethical consumer practices and animal abuse.

Animal Equality and The Humane League, animal rights organizations aimed at ensuring corporations treat animals ethically, launched separate campaigns in May 2026 calling on officials to reevaluate Brown’s position on the Board of Trustees because of his role as a member of the Board of Directors at Kroger, a grocery store chain that scaled back its commitment to producing cage-free eggs in 2022. Representatives of the two organizations said Brown’s ties to unethical business practices compromise GW’s commitment to ethical conduct, since he serves on the University’s top governing body as a trustee. 

“It’s not ethical for organizations like George Washington University to not at least question the presence of these individuals on their board because they’re much more than board members,” Sharon Núñez, the president of Animal Equality, said. “In this case, Kevin Brown is related to a company that systematically is hurting others.”

Brown has served on GW’s Board of Trustees since January 2026 and currently sits as the vice chair of the Board’s Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee, which oversees the University’s ethical conduct. He has also served as the executive vice president of global operations and chief supply chain officer at Dell Technologies since 2013 and on Kroger’s Board of Directors, including its committees on compensation, talent development and public responsibilities, since 2021.

While Kroger promised consumers in 2016 they would work toward producing 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2025, the company in 2022 scaled back its cage-free commitment to be 70 percent cage-free by 2030, according to Kroger’s 2022 animal welfare policy. Both Animal Equality and the Humane League — which have no direct affiliation with GW — allege Brown, along with the rest of Kroger’s Board of Directors, are responsible for holding Kroger accountable for its commitments because of their roles as senior leaders of the company.

A University spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether officials believe Brown has violated any ethical standards and if they are currently evaluating Brown’s standing on the Board. Brown also did not respond to a request for comment on the allegations Animal Equality has made against him and whether the protests have impacted his ability to effectively and credibly act as a trustee and as vice chair of Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. 

Kroger did not respond to a request for comment on their stance on the ongoing protests against Brown by Animal Equality and The Humane League.

Animal Equality — which Núñez and other co-founders Jose Valle and Javier Moreno founded in 2006 — aims to work with governments, companies and society to ensure “all animals are protected and respected,” according to the organization’s website. The Humane League, a global animal rights organization founded in 2005, aims to end abusive practices against animals raised for food through corporate negotiations, advocacy campaigns and policy reforms, according to the organization’s website.

Animal Equality has organized at least three protests on GW’s campus this year, with participants calling on officials to cut ties with Brown, including six protestors outside the Board of Trustees office at 2001 Pennsylvania Ave. on Aug. 24, four outside the University Student Center during the Board’s October public meeting on Oct. 16 and five at Kogan Plaza during Alumni and Family Weekend programming on Oct. 17. Attendees of the Board’s October public meeting could hear the protests from within the student center, with Board Chair Mark Chichester repeatedly mentioning the demonstration throughout the meeting.

The protesters carried signs displaying chickens packed in cages and a black and white picture of Brown with a caption saying “Kevin Brown lets animals suffer.” At each protest, one of the protesters shouted slogans calling on GW to cut ties with Brown, while another blasted a horn.

“Our hope is that a progressive university like GW — that has the responsibility to ensure not only to create a better future, but to train students to be part of a better future — makes some considerations and asks itself some deep questions about how they can have someone on their Board that is part of a company that systematically lies,” Núñez said.

Núñez said she reached out to University leadership, including University President Ellen Granberg, Chichester and every trustee, throughout May and June via email, calling on them to cut ties with Brown, though she did not receive a response. The emails, which The Hatchet obtained, stated that Brown’s dual role as a director at Kroger and trustee at GW directly linked the University to Kroger’s unethical practices, with Animal Equality pledging to highlight GW’s connection to a Kroger director through advertising campaigns and in-person protests.

“As long as this association persists, George Washington University will remain publicly associated with this controversy,” the emails sent in May state.

Chichester also did not respond to a letter Núñez sent him on Aug. 24 — the same day as Animal Equality’s first protest on GW campus — requesting the Board to issue a public statement affirming the University’s stance on animal welfare, corporate accountability and the ethical responsibilities of trustees, according to an Animal Equality spokesperson.

Núñez said Animal Equality doesn’t plan to stop its protests at GW in the near future, but would consider doing so if the University issued a statement denouncing the use of cages in egg farming, as it would encourage Brown to act to uphold Kroger’s commitment. Animal Equality Campaign Coordinator Scott Cator said in an email the organization is planning additional outreach and protests on campus Tuesday through Thursday, with the protests taking place outside Granberg’s office each afternoon.

Humane League Senior Field Organizer Olive Wilkes said the organization hosted at least two events on GW’s campus this year, a rally of around 30 protesters in July outside Granberg’s office at 1918 F St. and a community outreach event on Sept. 14 at Kogan Plaza. The Humane League’s rally outside Granberg’s office was part of a larger three-day campaign against Kroger throughout D.C., with advocates protesting outside a Harris Teeter — a Kroger subsidiary — in Northeast D.C. and Boston Consulting Group’s D.C. branch to protest Kroger Director Amanda Sourry, according to The Humane League’s website.

Wilkes said The Humane League is using a variety of tactics to pressure Kroger to uphold its commitments and educate the public, including GW community members, about the University’s association with Kroger’s unethical business practices. 

“This campaign’s just beginning, and I think there’s a lot more in store,” Wilkes said. “We’re not going anywhere until Koger keeps their promise or GW drops Kevin Brown.”

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