The role was already within reach. He just needed someone to point at it.
Janis Prinz had spent his career in politics and civil society. He understood how policy was made, how to navigate institutions, how to turn advocacy into actual change. It was skilled, meaningful work, just not, as far as he could see, work that had much to do with animals. Animal advocacy jobs in the political space were rare enough that he’d never really considered them a realistic option.
Lauren changed all of that with a conversation. She helped Janis see that the impact potential of a parliamentary advisor on animal welfare was real, that the role was viable, and that someone with his exact background was precisely who it needed. She encouraged him to apply for a position advising a member of the German federal parliament on animal welfare policies. He applied and got it.
As Advisor on Animal Welfare Policies at the Deutscher Bundestag, Janis worked at the uniquely impactful intersection of politics and animal advocacy, bringing the same skills he’d always had to bear on one of the most direct levers for change available. The work was consequential. He was closely involved in the effort to reform Germany’s Animal Welfare Act, monitoring draft legislation through each stage, preparing parliamentary negotiations on content, crafting communication strategies, and staying in frequent contact with stakeholders across the sector. The bill didn’t make it to final reading after the governing coalition collapsed in 2024, but the process had laid real groundwork for a sharper public debate and as benchmark for future governments to come. Separately, Janis played a key role in redirecting federal budget funds towards a centre, promoting legumes and alternative proteins for human consumption. He also worked to connect nonprofits with current government priorities, helping them to better understand the timing and framing needed to lobby most effectively.
Since his time at the Bundestag, Janis has taken that work even further. He now facilitates Impactful Policy Careers, a career accelerator that prepares mission-driven professionals for high-impact EU policy roles, including an annual cohort in Brussels that integrates animal welfare and food policy. The path Lauren helped him see turned out to be one he’d eventually help others find too.
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Written by Dom Altamari
