Senior Oregon Director, The Humane Society of the United States

Before joining HSUS in 2007, served as mayor of Waldport, Oregon from 2002-2007. He owned and operated his own law firm for 15 years, and  co-authored the first casebook on Animal Law. He currently teaches Animal Law as an adjunct professor at Willamette University College of Law.  With The HSUS, he has developed a diverse, statewide coalition to help financially-struggling horse owners and develop placement options for equines in need of new homes. In the past two legislative sessions, he worked to successfully pass the nation’s toughest  puppy mill law, a ban on the ownership of exotic pets, and a ban on the sale and possession of shark fins. Beckstead received a B.S. from Utah State University and his J.D. from the University of Utah in 1991.