Christopher Ahlers

Staff Attorney, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic and Assistant Professor of Law
Phone: 802-831-1624
Email: chrisahlers@vermontlaw.edu

Christopher Ahlers is a fellow at the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, where he serves as a staff attorney managing projects in collaboration and partnership with the Toxics Action Center. More…

Hillary Hoffmann

Professor of Law
Phone: 802-831-1205
Email: hhoffmann@vermontlaw.edu

Professor Hillary Hoffmann teaches Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Advanced Appellate Advocacy, and Appellate Advocacy at Vermont Law School.
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Kevin Jones

Deputy Director, Senior Fellow for Energy Technology and Policy, Institute for Energy and the Environment
Phone: 802-831-1054
Email: kbjones@vermontlaw.edu

Professor Kevin Jones is Smart Grid project leader at the Institute for Energy and the Environment.  Seeking solutions to the energy and environmental policy challenges facing the electric power industry has been the focus of his career. More…

Pat Parenteau

Senior Counsel, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic and Professor of Law
Phone: 802-831-1305
Email: pparenteau@vermontlaw.edu

Patrick A. Parenteau is nationally recognized for his expertise regarding endangered species and biological diversity, water quality and wetlands, environmental policy and litigation, and land use and property rights.More…

Rebecca Purdom

Associate Dean for Innovation and New Programs and Professor of Environmental Law
Phone: 802-831-1000
Email: rpurdom@vermontlaw.edu

Professor Rebecca Purdom is known for her work in water and natural resource management, environmental human rights, nonprofit management and policy, and sustainability education. More…

Laurie Ristino

Director, Center for Agriculture and Food Systems and Associate Professor of Law
Phone: 802-831-1230
Email: lristino@vermontlaw.edu

Professor Ristino is director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) and an associate professor of law. As director, she is responsible for CAFS vision and direction, including curriculum development, teaching, outreach, and advocacy. Professor Ristino is also the faculty advisor to VLS’s Food and Agriculture Law Society.More…

Doug Ruley

Director, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic and Professor of Law
Phone: 802-831-1136
Email: druley@vermontlaw.edu

Douglas A. Ruley is the director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. He has litigated multiple environmental cases over the past two decades. He began his career with a federal court clerkship, followed by five years as a litigation associate at Tharrington & Smith in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1993, he became a staff attorney for Earthjustice in Juneau, Alaska, and brought cases to protect Alaska’s great rainforests and to conserve the marine resources of the Bering Sea. More…

Melissa Scanlan

Associate Dean, Environmental Law Program; Director, Environmental Law Center; and Associate Professor of Law
Phone: 802-831-1066
Email: mscanlan@vermontlaw.edu

Professor Melissa K. Scanlan is the Associate Dean of the Environmental Law Program and Director of the Environmental Law Center at Vermont Law School. Prior to joining VLS, she was the University of Wisconsin Law School’s Water Law and Policy Scholar, where she led a pilot project on interdisciplinary water research and teaching. She was also a lead consultant involved in launching the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences 2011. More…

Jack Tuholske

Director of Water and Justice and Visiting Professor of Law
Phone: 802-831-1000
Email: jtuholske@vermontlaw.edu

Jack Tuholske has practiced natural resource law for more than 26 years and has been lead counsel on more than 45 published decisions. He combines private practice in Missoula, Montana, with appointments as a visiting professor at Vermont Law School and the University of Montana Law School. More…

William Schulte
LLM Fellow, U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law

William (BJ) Schulte joined the U.S.-China Partnership for Environmental Law (PEL) as an LLM Fellow in July 2013. BJ brings both environmental and international experience to PEL. Prior to joining PEL, BJ spent five years practicing environmental law in the public interest in Newark, New Jersey. During that time he represented environmental and community groups on matters related to environmental permit reviews, environmental justice, air pollution reduction, watershed protection, and energy infrastructure proposals, among others. Additionally, BJ spent two years serving on the Jersey City Environmental Commission, where he worked with his fellow Commissioners and local citizen groups to push environmental initiatives on the municipal level. While in law school BJ worked as a student clinician in the Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic in addition to spending a summer researching evidentiary issues related to the Khmer Rouge Tribunals as an intern for the Documentation Center of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. He also spent about a year and a half studying Mandarin at Yunnan University in Kunming before attending law school, and is very happy for the opportunity to combine his environmental law and China experience to support PEL’s mission and programs.

Stuart Souther
LLM Candidate

Stuart Souther is an Environmental Law LL.M. candidate at Vermont Law School with a focus on climate disruption and energy policy.  He has two decades of experience as a corporate attorney, most recently serving as general counsel of Hoya Corporation, a Japanese public company and, after Hoya’s successful tender offer for Pentax Corporation, as a member of Pentax’s board of directors.  Stuart has also served as chief legal officer of Hewlett-Packard Japan, Ltd. and as a staff attorney at Hewlett-Packard Financial Services.  He began his legal career as an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and was also an associate at Jones Day in Geneva, Switzerland and elsewhere.  Stuart received degrees in law and in East Asian Studies from Duke University and was a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Tokyo in 1992-93.

Jake Beckstrom, JD/MELP ’15, a native Minnesotan, is a staff editor at VJEL. He graduated summa cum laude from Southwest Minnesota State University with a degree in environmental science. He strongly believes in science-based conservation to protect our natural heritage so that it may be maintained and used wisely by today’s generation in order to bestow its privileges to future generations. He enjoys outdoor activities including hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. He plans to practice environmental law with a focus on water law and policy.

Allison Gabala, JD ’15 is a staff editor at VJEL. She graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2012 with a B.S. in environmental studies. Last summer, she worked at Linowes and Blocher, a business and real estate law firm in Bethesda, Maryland. She plans to focus her legal practice on hazardous waste and the redevelopment of contaminated land.

Ben Gustafson, JD ’15, a Minnesotan through and through, is a second-year JD student and staff editor at VJEL. He graduated from the University of Minnesota (the real “U”) in 2012 with a major in Geography. After graduation he hopes to practice environmental law and start a map collection.

Will Kirk, JD ’15, a native of Richmond, Virginia, is a second-year JD student and a staff editor at VJEL. Before attending Vermont Law School, he earned a B.A. in History from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA. A proud Southerner, he is passionate about conserving our natural lands while encouraging our youth to develop a meaningful connection with the natural world.

Andrew Minikowski, JD/MELP ’15, a native of Colchester, Connecticut, is a second-year JD/Master of Environmental Law and Policy student and a staff editor at VJEL. He enjoys literature, birding, and backpacking. He plans to practice environmental law with a focus on natural resources and wildlife management.

Kelly Nokes, JD/MELP ’15, is a Staff Editor at VJEL, the Chair of the Freshwater Working Group of the VLS Environmental Law Society, and is a Board Fellow with the Friends of the Mad River. Prior to law school, Kelly held a successful career in education and program administration with the Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute and Columbia Riverkeeper in Hood River, Oregon. A native of suburban Chicago, Kelly holds a BS in Environmental Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Leadership and Management from Northern Michigan University. Kelly is passionate about protecting our environment and natural resources and hopes to return to the West Coast and work with a non-profit organization or public-interest law firm upon graduation.

David Scott, JD ’15, from Hauppauge, New York, is a staff editor at VJEL. Before coming to VLS, he graduated magna cum laude in 2012 from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a degree in environmental science. Last summer, he was a law clerk for the Maryland Attorney General for the Department of Natural Resources. After graduation, he plans to practice environmental and land use law.

Mychal Ozaeta, JD/MELP ’15, from Los Angeles, California, is a staff editor at VJEL. Mychal graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Political Science. Upon graduation, he plans to practice environmental and energy law.

Ashley Welsch, JD/MELP ’15, is from Oswego, NY. Ashley is a staff editor at VJEL, Chair of the Campus Greening Committee, Public Relations Officer for Women’s Law Group, and an Environmental Legal Research Assistant. She plans to practice environmental law with a focus on compliance and enforcement.

Phoebe Youhanna graduated from Rutgers University with a double major in Political Science, Middle Eastern Studies and a minor in Music. After graduating, she worked as a cataloguer at Beth Mardutho Research Library in Piscataway, New Jersey, where she catalogued rare volumes. She then ventured to another realm of books, this time as an editorial assistant at Gorgias Press, a small publishing company. In whatever spare time she has, this native Cairene likes to read, write, sing, and listen to all kinds of music.