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

Advisor: Adam Orford - adam.orford@uga.edu

ELA Executive Board: 

President: Hannah Jellema​​​​​​​ - hmj47703@uga.edu​​​​​​​
Vice President: Anna Scartz - anna.scartz25@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
1997-1998 Joe Vancura
1998-1999 Scott Hitch
2011-12 Jill Hollingsworth
2012-13 Michael Salter
2013-14 Jim Xiao
2014-15 Mark Grafton
2015-16 Bo Uuganbayar
2016-17 Emily Wyche
2017-18 Danielle Goshen
2018-19 Chris Bertrand
2019-20 Chris Bertrand
2020-21 Gabrielle Gravel & Promy Tabassum, Co-Presidents

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

University of Georgia Organizations 

 

The Red Clay Conference is an annual student-run conference at the University of Georgia School of Law, established to increase public awareness of environmental issues. The 35th annual conference is titled Climate Change Innovation: Stakeholders and Tools and will discuss climate change stakeholders and identify the legal tools they are using to combat climate change. The conference will be held Friday, February 10, from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall on the UGA campus.

The conference will include three panels: Roles of Humans, Rights of Nature, and Responsibilities of Corporations. The Peter Appel Honorary Keynote will be Dr. Marilyn A. Brown, a Regents’ Professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a joint faculty member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dr. Brown will discuss her experience with policy work aimed at accelerating the implementation of sustainable energy sources and technology.

Organized by members of the UGA Environmental Law Association, Georgia lawyers can earn 4 CLE credits by attending the conference (pending approval by ICLE).

Register for the conference here.

35th Annual Red Clay Conference
Climate Change Innovation: Stakeholders and Tools

February 10, 2023

The Red Clay Conference is an annual student-run conference at the University of Georgia School of Law, established to increase public awareness of environmental issues. The 35th annual conference is entitled Climate Change Innovation: Stakeholders and Tools and will discuss climate change stakeholders and identify the legal tools they are using to combat climate change.

Schedule

Breakfast 8:45 - 9:15
Opening Remarks 9:15 - 9:30
Panel 1: Roles of Humans

Moderator:
  • Shana Jones (Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia)

Panelists:

  • Pam Knox (University of Georgia)
  • James Marshall Shepherd (University of Georgia)
  • Tawana Mattox (Athens Land Trust)
Description: Panelists will discuss the impact of climate change on agriculture, urban environments, and environmental justice communities.		 9:30 - 10:45
Panel 2: Rights of Nature

Moderator:
  • Christian Turner (University of Georgia School of Law)
Panelists:
  • Kekek Stark (Blewett School of Law University of Montana)
  • Chuck O’Neal (Speak Up Wekiva)
  • Eduardo Salazar-Ortuño (University of Murcia - via Zoom)
Description: Panelists will discuss how the rights of nature doctrine can be used to combat climate change.		 10:55 - 12:10
Lunch 12:10 - 12:55
Peter Appel Honorary Keynote
  • Marilyn Brown (Georgia Tech School of Public Policy)
Description: Dr. Brown will discuss her experience in policy work aimed at accelerating the implementation of sustainable energy sources and technology.		 12:55 - 2:00
Panel 3: Responsibilities of Corporations

Moderator:
  • Melissa Durkee (University of Georgia School of Law)
Panelists:
  • Christopher Bruner (University of Georgia School of Law)
  • Michael Vandenbergh (Vanderbilt Law School)
  • Kelly Rondinelli (Vinson & Elkins)
Description: Panelists will discuss how corporate governance can reduce environmental externalities.		 2:10 - 3:25
Closing Remarks 3:25 - 3:30

 

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.