Author Archives: Chloe Stricker

Interview with Ladan Davia

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Ladan Davia is the current CEO of Friends of Normie, a cat toy company and major contributor to the Friends of Normie Cat Rescue. A serial entrepreneur, Ladan has founded several businesses including Beeya, a company aimed at using AI and machine learning to reduce the bias in hiring by creating “match scores” to tell both job seekers and employers which candidates and opportunities they are best suited for. Ladan graduated from Chapman University in 2014 with a bachelor’s in Television/Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Political science. 

Ladan Davia, Founder and CEO of Friends of Normie LLC

I reached out to Ladan for an interview as she is not only a Chapman alumna but also an entrepreneur whose focus is creating equity and justice through the use of the market. I was curious to hear her thoughts on peace and the future of cat rescue. 

Q: How did you find your way to this profession (cat rescue)?

Ladan: “I stumbled into this completely by accident. I was driving in Orange and saw a mama cat on the side of the road. When I pulled over, I noticed her kittens. I called shelters and rescues but no one would take them and they told me to leave them on the road because they are “free roaming animals”. Obviously I did not accept that answer, and went and bought a trap. The rest is history.”

Q: How do you balance pursuing long term change for feral cats as a whole and short term survival efforts for individual cats?

Ladan: “Long term change needs to happen with spay and neuter. It’s impossible to adopt our way out of this situation. I truly believe the stray cat crisis is an epidemic, one that the government has completely failed on. I also am a firm believer that friendly cats have no place outside or on the streets. My main goal is to spay and neuter as many as I can with the secondary goal being getting the friendly cats inside with a foster and adopted.”

A portion of every Friends of Normie product sale is used to fund cat rescue work

Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Ladan: “I know there’s no way of saving every cat, but to the one cat you do save, that’s their entire life. It matters. Knowing that with some effort, a safe space and love that cat’s life is forever changed. On the human side, seeing the community we have built with fosters and adopters is incredible. The people who foster for FON are so committed to these animals and the process and they know what a few weeks and love will do for them.”

Q: What does peace look like in your field? If we were to achieve a peaceful world for cats, what would that look like to you?

Ladan: “I think a peaceful world for cats is seeing ferals happy in their colonies, fixed and vaccinated. Seeing friendly cats indoors with people who love them. A peaceful world would require peaceful people, which is something I can’t control but hope to spread enough awareness to one day achieve.”

As a fellow rescuer myself I appreciate hearing Ladan’s perspective and learning the different approaches we all take to peace building in our own fields. One of the aspects of peacebuilding that seems to unite us all across every front is the appreciation for the communities and people that make this work possible. Ladan mentioned the incredible foster and adopter community that Friends of Normie has built. As someone who has witnessed this network firsthand, I have to agree that it is truly remarkable what we can accomplish when we come together as a community and as people united in a desire for justice. There are so many situations that felt so dire and so hopeless where the FON community has stepped in and divided the work in order to make an unimaginable tragedy into something manageable. Peacebuilding is not an individual pursuit. The joy and transformation of this work is found in the relationships and communities you create along the way.

You can find Ladan on LinkedIn, Instagram, and by email at ladan@friendsofnormie.com

You can find Friends of Normie on their Instagram, website, Walmart, Amazon, and Etsy.

Peace as a Profession: Feline Edition

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Two years ago I tripped and fell face first into a bush… and also my profession. I applied to Chapman as a prospective Peace Studies major. I wanted to be a doctor, just like I had for so much of my life. I wanted to address the deep inequities and injustices present in the medical system and I believed that a Peace Studies degree would give me the important skills and knowledge required to address such issues. I still believe that. Funnily enough, I soon found myself battling the same inequities I wanted to address as a doctor, but this time as a patient. My body was self-destructing. My mental health was in shambles. I was frankly being beaten left and right by organic chemistry. I knew it was over. Medical school would kill me. I could not do it. I had a crisis of profession- I knew from the very beginning that I had zero interest in international policy or UN work. I had plenty of people in my life who pursued that path and I knew it was not for me. So what’s a burnt out, dying, washed up peace studies student meant to do? 

Laila, my best friend, and her babies hanging out on my patio while I acclimate them to a live trap

I came home from a lecture one day to see my cat jumping and flipping in front of my patio door. Is she playing with the glass? When I walked closer to investigate, I saw a flash of black take off into a bush. Little did I know at the time that this little flash of black would be named Laila and that her and her babies would completely change my life- and career- for the better. Fast forward one historic flood, two months of near hourly bottle feeding, three emotionally devastating vet encounters, and the dissolution of my entire life’s savings and I had rescued a total of 11 kittens and their mother. I had also found my calling. 

Helen: my son, one of Laila’s babies, and one of the first kittens I ever bottle raised. He is currently sitting on my desk and chewing on the end of my keyboard.

Six months prior, I had just been a cat lover. I did not know about the shelter overpopulation crisis or the realities of feral colonies or the tens of thousands of rescuers across the country who dedicate their lives to saving and raising the kitties you might currently find sitting on your coffee table. I was taken in by local Orange County rescuers who taught me how to trap, give vaccines, administer life saving measures out the back of my car, and more. I found a family and a career.

A staged photo of all the supplies I used in my first emergency medical intervention. Arranging this photo was part of how I processed the emotional trauma of holding a baby in my hands for five hours doing everything in my power to keep her alive while she fought for her every breath. The kitten’s name is Butternut and against all odds she survived and was adopted by a lovely family in San Diego.

 I don’t think cat rescue is the first thing that comes to mind when people hear Peace and Justice studies, but spend one day on the ground with me and you will see the essence of peace building right before your eyes. Beyond just rescuing cats in danger on the streets, we facilitate dialogue between community members and feeders to help resolve disputes concerning feral cat colonies. We provide fundraising support for folks struggling to financially provide for their pets. We show up at city hall and county board meetings to stand up for the rights of cat communities and their caretakers. We carefully navigate hoarding situations to both protect the cats and preserve the emotional integrity of their owners who love but can not reasonably care for them. Cat rescue requires heart, smarts, and the ability to thoughtfully and productively navigate conflict and tense situations. 

Ernest, the first cat I trapped on an overnight stakeout at an auto body shop in Pico Rivera

If you had asked me as a freshman what I thought I would be doing with my degree, I never would have dreamed that this would be it. If you told eight year old me how I spend my time as a 21 year old almost peace studies grad, she would pick up her beloved kitty Baby Fluff and swing him around in joy. I might not have followed the path I thought had been laid out before me, but I did chase a little black cat right into a profession that I love and that brings my inner child so much fulfillment. Peace and Justice studies can mean so many things. Still don’t believe me? Send me an email and I’ll take you on a cat trapping stakeout with my fellow rescuers at Friends of Normie. 

Reflections on Shared Humanity: A Conversation with Mira Sucharov & Omar Dajani

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I remember picking out my clothes that morning. It was an all black ensemble to symbolize my state of mourning, composed of light, draped fabrics in an attempt to protect myself from words and glances that stick to your skin like burrs. I drove to campus in silence, dreading the conversation ahead of me.

I know the importance of conversations with people who disagree with you. I have been a peace studies student for four years- I can promise you that I have heard the adage again and again. At this point, it might sound like I don’t believe in it. In truth, in addition to my intense commitment to Palestinian liberation, I have dear friends who are Israeli and who I have spent many hours grieving, conversing, and sometimes arguing with. But I hate saying it out loud. Not because I do not love my friends and not because I do not believe in the importance of co-creating a future, but because my love for my friends and my commitment to this work so quickly becomes weaponized for civility politics. I have no interest in being civil with people who do not respect me, Palestinians, or the sanctity of human life. I have no interest in compromising on the tangible, material safety of the lives of Palestinians for the abstract comfort of the state of Israel. I won’t let my commitment to liberation be distorted in service of those who wish to silence and repress “uncivil” forms of resistance.

Given everything I just covered above, you might now be able to see just why I was so worried about this event. The description for the Wilkinson College Shared Humanity Day One event reads,

“For two years Mira Sucharov, Jewish-Canadian political scientist, and Omar Dajani, Palestinian-American legal scholar, have traveled within, discussed the tough issues of, and written about this region and conflict. Their conversations demonstrate the difficulties, promises, and importance of developing friendships across the divide.”

There it is. “Across the divide.” The phrase conjures up notions of “working across the aisle”- a phrase seemingly only used by Democrats as they slash important legislation to appease the extremist right while we rapidly descend into a political hellscape. I don’t believe it is hard for one to imagine why this phrasing raises the hackles of any politically engaged leftist.

When I took my seat in Fish Interfaith center, I immediately grabbed the index card on my chair to arm myself for notetaking. When the talk began, I analyzed every opening comment from Professor Rangel and Dr. Leitz as I jotted down key words and tried to determine the coming direction of the conversation. Words matter and framing is everything. I was ready to strike at any word that seemed out of place or phrase that suggested a particular stance. By the beginning of the Q&A with Mira and Omar, I had relaxed a bit. These people were friendly and they spoke with conviction, but also intention and compassion. When it came time to address the New York Times article about Hamas’s sexual violence (which I have plenty to say about and whole heartedly understand Omar’s reaction to, but that’s a topic for another post), my blood pressure shot through my head. I had heard Mira’s accusations of rape apologia from many on the internet before and I was ready for a fight. I was armed to the teeth with sources and hellbent on shutting this point down. And then it came time for Omar to address the issue, and I relaxed. And then immediately felt a little silly. His answer was true to his own feelings on the matter, but gentle and well-considered. This both humbled and infuriated me. He had every right to be mad at some of Mira’s blatant examples of white fragility, and yet here he was considering her a good friend and speaking gently and with care about her, their friendship, and their work. He was vulnerable and compassionate even when he has every right to act otherwise. I understand that there is certainly a portion of that associated with the fact that oppressed peoples often have to work civilly and carefully in order to be listened to and deemed worthy of consideration, but that does not mean doing so is not extremely hard. By the end of the event, I had a great appreciation for both Omar and Mira, and even went so far as to recommend Mira’s Facebook group to some of my friends.

As I walked back to my car in the rain after the event, I slipped off my shawl to take in the sensation of the gentle drizzle. I had gotten dressed that morning searching for protection from stinging words, but by the end of the event I was able to shed my shell and feel the sky’s tears mix with mine. Maybe words can be more than weapons. Maybe they can be the cleansing balm needed to water the seeds of peace.