About

The Environmental Law Association (ELA) is an organization of the University of Georgia School of Law students who seek to further the development and advancement of environmental law through activities designed to increase environmental awareness among members of the community at large and the student bodies of the University of Georgia and the Georgia School of Law. We participate in the following activities:
  • Organization of the yearly Red Clay Conference
  • Monthly speakers who provide information from different perspectives on careers in the law
  • Dissemination of information regarding internships and jobs
  • Promotion of sound environmental policies
  • Trips outside the law school
Contact: see Leadership tab for current contact information

Leadership

Advisor:  Professor Alex Sklut

President Danielle Goshen dlg16742@uga.edu
Vice President Ashley Platt atp63887@uga.edu
Secretary Julia Shellburne jmm89476@uga.edu
Red Clay Conference Executive Chair Ben Wilde benwilde@uga.edu

Past Presidents

1971-72 Bill Poole
1972-73 Eugene Black
1973-74 Jack Sammons
1974-75 Mary Carden
1976-77 Beverly Gholson
1977-78 Elizabeth Barry & Dave Eldridge, Co-Presidents
1978-79 Martha McMasters
1979-80 Harger Hoyt
1980-81 Barth X. De Roas & Sam Collier
1981-82 Walter Ballew & Laurie Fowler, Co-Chairpersons
1982-83 Chrisanne Worthington & Libbi Black, Co-Chairpersons
1983-84 Melissa Heath & Jay Palmer, Co-Chairpersons
1984-85 Jay Palmer & Marilyn Kelm, Co-Chairpersons
1985-86 Paul Looper
1986-87 Mike Berrigan
1987-88 Mike Berrigan
1988-89 Lucy Phillips
2011-12 Jill Hollingsworth
2012-13 Michael Salter
2013-14 Jim Xiao
2014-15 Mark Grafton
2015-16 Bo Uuganbayar
2016-17 Emily Wyche

In the News

UGA Recieves a Go Green Rating of 99 (highest score) - The Princeton Review ranked the University of Georgia among 18 other schools on the Green Honor Roll. The University of Georgia has taken aggressive steps to conserve water on campus, such as installing rain gardens, planting native species, installing low-flow toilets and showerheads, recycling water in research labs, and even limiting flushes in stadium bathrooms during football games. The result of this “Every Drop Counts” campaign is that water use on campus is down 30 percent.

More than 100 members of the UGA faculty have joined together to create the Academy of the Environment, “a venue for cross-disciplinary collaboration in research, graduate and undergraduate training, and public education and outreach.” UGA is home to the Eugene Odum School of Ecology, and students and faculty from a variety of academic departments conduct research related to environmental issues—engineering students conduct energy audits on campus buildings, students in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication look for ways to promote energy conservation and recycling, and students in the River Basin Science and Policy Center research water quality in area streams. 

Learn more

Georgia Law’s 30th Annual Red Clay Conference

When Disaster Strikes: How environmental laws and policies can increase resiliency in communities
Friday, March 2, 2018
The Red Clay Conference is an annual student run conference at the University of Georgia School of Law. This event was established to increase public awareness of environmental issues on a regional, national, and international level through a series of educational presentations and open forum discussions. The Conference attracts attorneys as well as students and interested members of the Athens community.
After multiple natural disasters have struck the Southeast this past year, the 30th Annual Red Clay Conference will focus on the institutions, agents, and communities impacted by natural disasters and how environmental policies and laws can lead to more resilient responses. The conference will consist of one keynote speaker, a lecture, and three panels, which will address the following topics: the role state and local government's play in creating resiliency; environmental problem solving in the private sector; flood insurance and the NFIP and Hazard mitigation programs; how development or preservation on Cumberland Island can increase resiliency; and disaster law. 

Registration

2018 Conference Schedule

9:00 a.m. – 9:20 a.m. Registration and Opening Remarks
9:25 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Resiliency and State and Local Governments: Safeguarding against Natural Disasters
10:20 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. Speaker: Michael Vandenbergh Environmental Problem Solving in the private sector
11:15 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. Flood Insurance: NFIP and Hazard Mitigation Programs
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Resiliency on Cumberland Island: Development or Preservation
2:10 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. Keynote Address: Robert Verchick Environmental Perspectives on Disaster Law
3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Closing Remarks     

         

Student organizations are not a part of nor are they agencies of the University of Georgia School of Law or the University of Georgia.  Neither the University of Georgia School of Law nor the University of Georgia direct, supervise, or control these organizations.  Each organization is a separate and independent organization and is responsible for and manages its own activities and affairs. The University of Georgia School of Law and the University of Georgia are not responsible for any of these organizations’ contracts, acts or omissions.

The content and opinions expressed in student organization websites linked from this web page do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the University of Georgia or the University System of Georgia.