Rebecca Purdom

Professor Rebecca Purdom is known for her work in water and natural resource management, environmental human rights, nonprofit management and policy, and sustainability education. She received her BS degree in science journalism from Linfield College in 1992 and her JD and MSEL degrees from Vermont Law School in 1996, where she served as managing editor of the Vermont Law Review. From 1996 to 1998 she served as a clerk to the Hon. Judge J. Garvin Murtha of the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont, and during that time also served in the chambers of Judge James L. Oaks, Second Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1998 she joined private practice, and in the next decade worked in land use, environmental permitting, as the director of a 3000-acre conservation organization, and as a consulting attorney for nonprofit organizations and environmental litigators. In 2001 she joined the faculty of Green Mountain College, where she chaired the Division of Environmental Studies and Management and was instrumental in designing the college's environmental liberal arts curriculum, which received the American Association of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Campus Sustainability Leadership Award, and was recognized by Sierra Magazine and the top Green College in 2010 when the college became the first college in the country to go climate neutral without use of carbon-offsets. In 2004, she was the recipient of the United Methodist Church General Board of Higher Education and Ministry Award for Exemplary Teaching. In addition to her work in undergraduate sustainability curriculum design, Professor Purdom helped start two master's programs, a Master's of Science in Environmental Studies and a Sustainable Master's of Business Administration (MBA). In 2008, Professor Purdom served as visiting professor of environmental law and business at Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba (UNIMEP) in Piracicaba, Brazil. She continues her affiliation with UNIMEP through research on water allocation and environmental human rights. Professor Purdom is a member of the Vermont Bar Association.