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Institute for Energy and the Environment


Research Team

LLM Global Energy Fellows

Photo of Paul FoleyPaul Foley, JD

Global Energy Fellow
LLM Candidate, 2011

Paul Foley has practiced environmental, land use and energy law in New York and California. He was an environmental litigator for the New York City Corporation Counsel and worked on the interface of energy and environmental law while in private practice. Both an attorney and a planner, Paul earned a JD from University of Maine School of Law, a Master of Community Planning and Development from University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service , and a BA from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He has served on the Board of the Battenkill Conservancy and as a public official on the Cambridge, New York Planning Board.

Photo of Zhen ZhangZhen Zhang, JD

Global Energy Fellow
LLM Candidate, 2011

Zhen Zhang received a BS in environmental policy from the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a JD from the University of Maryland. Zhen became an environmental attorney after being inspired by a research project on the siting of low-level nuclear waste disposal facilities at the University of Michigan. Since then, she has worked for a variety of organizations, including the National Wildlife Federation, the American Birds Conservancy, and law firms. Before joining the Institute for Energy and Environment, Zhen was an associate at an environmental law firm where her practice mainly involved administrative cases and civil litigation regarding solid waste, land use, wetlands and the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area. Zhen also advised waste-to-energy plants. Furthermore, due to her interest in energy efficient construction she became a LEED Accredited Professional with the U.S. Green Building Council. Zhen’s interests include international energy policy, carbon cap and trade, demand side management tools, and reliability standards for the electric system.

 

Research Associates

Christine Breen

JD Candidate, 2011

Christine Breen is a third year JD candidate at Vermont Law School. She earned her Masters in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School in 2008. Originally from Texas, she did her undergraduate work at Southern Methodist University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, with an emphasis in Biology, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. At VLS, she is Co-chair of the Dispute Resolution Society. As co-chair, Christine assists members prepare for regional and national competitions and, works to further interest in alternative dispute resolution. During law school, Christine spent a semester working with the office of Senator Bernie Sanders on his Energy and Environment Team. There, she had the opportunity to work on energy legislation and other pressing issues in the Senate. As an avid hiker, climber, and skier, Christine tries to find time to appreciate the environment she hopes to conserve.

Photo of Lisa CampionLisa Campion

JD Candidate, 2011

Lisa Campion is a JD candidate at Vermont Law School. Lisa received her bachelor of science degrees in environmental science and management and fisheries and wildlife with minors in science, technology and environmental public policy and environmental economics and policy from Michigan State University in 2007. As an undergraduate, Lisa participated in a study abroad program, where she traveled to Ushuaia, Argentina, Antarctic Peninsula, and Antarctica researching the science, policy, and history of the area. Lisa also worked as a student assistant at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Environmental Science and Services Division, Pollution Prevention Section. At Vermont Law School, Lisa has worked on the Carbon Reduction Task Force and was a student assistant for the dean’s office. Currently, Lisa is a Curriculum Committee representative, Ambassador, Phi Alpha Delta Fundraising Chair, Water Project Chief and Vermont State Director of the National Association of Environmental Law Societies, Campus Greening Committee Student Co-Chair, Outdoors Club Executive Team Member, and Environmental Law Society webmaster. In the summer of 2009, Lisa served as an environmental law intern for Trustees for Alaska in Anchorage. In the spring of 2010, Lisa worked as a Law Intern with the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries Leagal and Prosecution office in Wellington, New Zealand. Lisa is interested in the effects of energy policy on global climate change and how energy is a factor within the international agreements of the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Photo of Danielle ChangalaDanielle Changala

MELP Candidate, 2010

Danielle Changala graduated cum laude from the University of California, San Diego with a double major in political science and psychology. After college, Danielle interned with New Generation Energy, a non-profit renewable investment firm focusing on extending capital from private investors to community-level renewable energy projects. She also worked as a research assistant for Climb the Green Ladder, a book focusing on the economic incentives of sustainable business and environmentally conscious corporations. Concurrently, Danielle worked for a Copenhagen-based online marking company that specializes in search engine optimization and web design. Danielle also interned with The Irvine Ranch Conservancy, a southern Californian nature conservancy which manages and preserves the natural beauty of some of Southern California’s most pristine landscape. Danielle completed her Masters in Environmental Law and Policy in 2010 while earning the Certificate in Energy Law.

Photo of Laura ColangeloLaura Colangelo

JD Candidate, 2012

Laura Colangelo graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, where she founded the total immersion-based ND Italian Theater Company and subsequently spent several years teaching and directing plays in Italian. Shifting careers, she then earned an MS in Aquatics and Water Policy from the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. Her Masters Project team created a 10-year strategic and financial plan for a client nonprofit organization that sought to incorporate social enterprise into its programming. Laura has worked with the USGS and the Huron River Watershed Council on stream monitoring, mapping, and statistical graphing. She founded and currently chairs the VLS Freshwater Working Group, and is an active member of the VLS Environmental Law Society and the Dispute Resolution Society. Laura’s interests include the effects of hydropower on aquatic ecosystems and the use of collaborative processes in energy policy creation.

Photo of David ContradaDavid Contrada

MELP Candidate, 2010

David Contrada completed his BA in philosophy from Kenyon College, where he was also a four-year starter and senior co-captain on the college football team. After two years in sales and management in Chicago, David pursued his philosophical interests by earning his MA in Philosophy, cum laude, from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. During his studies, David focused on issues of human freedom and determinism, and his thesis examined these concepts through a critical analysis of 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza's Ethics. Between his graduate work in Belgium and his start at the Vermont Law School, David studied German in Munich, Germany and worked at the University of Toledo as a mentor and tutor for student athletes.

Photo of Clay FrancisClay Francis

MELP Candidate, 2010

Clay Francis graduated Summa Cum Laude from Middle Tennessee State University with a BA in political science and Spanish. During the Spring semester of 2006, he worked as an intern for the Tennessee Senate Environment, Conservation, and Tourism Committee. In 2007, he studied Spanish culture and literature while living in both Spain and Mexico. Clay spent the academic year of 2008-2009 teaching advanced Spanish at a private boarding school in Tennessee. This past summer, he was an associate professor of political science at the Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies.

Photo of Javier Garcia-Lomas GagoJavier Garcia-Lomas Gago, JD

LLM Candidate, 2010

Hailing from Spain, Javier earned a BA in art, history, and literature. He later earned a JD with honors, graduating first in his class, from the University of Seville. During law school he obtained several scholarships to study abroad (Munich, Germany). He specialized in administrative law and environmental law and obtained a scholarship-fellowship in 2008 to develop a research project about renewable energy law and policy. After finishing his JD, he practiced at Perez Moreno and Associates (one of the most important law firms in Spain for administrative and environmental law). In 2009, he obtained a scholarship to come to VLS for an LLM in environmental law. Javier is interested in very broad cultural issues, and speaks Spanish, English, French and German. As an amateur essayist, he coordinates, among other things, a cultural magazine called Pliegos. Javier generally writes about classical music, opera and German literature, one of his passions. He has published various articles about opera in Wagnerian Papers, the magazine of Madrid´s Wagnerian Society.

Photo of Colin HaganColin Hagan

JD Candidate, 2012

Colin Hagan earned a BA in political science and English from Furman University. After graduating, he received a Compton Fellowship to study energy policy and climate change in South Carolina, where he published the South Carolina Guide to Climate Change and participated in a briefing for the South Carolina General Assembly. In 2008, Colin joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy as the Federal Policy Associate. His work focused on advancing policies to address climate change and help develop renewable energy resources in the southeastern U.S. Colin analyzed legislation, served as a liaison to Congress and helped write testimony for several congressional hearings about energy and climate change. Recently, Colin served on the City of Greenville Mayor’s Climate Action Committee, the Greenville Vision 2025 Environmental Taskforce and the Southern Energy Network Steering Committee. At Vermont Law School, Colin is Secretary for the Environmental Law Society. Colin worked this summer as a legal intern with the Clean Air Task Force and as a research assistant with Vermont Law School’s Environmental Tax Policy Institute.

Photo of Benjamin JonesBenjamin Jones

JD Candidate, 2012

Benjamin Jones graduated with honors from Concordia University, Montreal, with a double major in philosophy and classical philology. He continued his studies with graduate work in philosophy at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. Upon returning to Canada, Benjamin obtained his commercial pilot’s license. He spent almost ten years in northern Canada, working as a charter pilot and, for four years, as an administrator on the Blueberry River Indian Reserve. During this period Benjamin also spent some time working on a cattle ranch in northern British Columbia. Benjamin’s work both as a pilot and an administrator involved him directly with the major resource extraction industries in Canada, and reinforced his interest in environmental issues. In addition to pursuing his JD and working at the Institute for Energy and the Environment, Benjamin currently works as a research assistant for Gus Speth. He lives on an organic dairy farm in Strafford, where he helps with milking when time permits.

Shahin PhotoShahin Milani, JD

LLM Candidate 2010

Shahin Milani earned a BA from the College of William & Mary and a JD from Howard University School of Law. He is currently pursuing his LLM in environmental law from Vermont Law School. During law school, Shahin worked at the Washington office of the Natural Resources Defense Council as an extern , researching public nuisance and aggregation of oil and gas installations. He also worked at the legal department of People for the American Way, where he researched the backgrounds of judicial nominees to the Courts of Appeals. He also assisted in the writing of People for the American Way’s 2006-2007 Supreme Court review. While at Howard Law School, he was a staff editor at Human Rights and Globalization Law Review. Shahin is fluent in Persian, and he is a volunteer translator for Human Rights Activists in Iran, an organization dedicated to reporting on human rights abuses in Iran. Shahin is also a translator for Boroumand Foundation, which archives the stories of victims of human rights abuse in Iran.

Photo of Jessica ReissJessica Reiss

JD/MELP Joint Degree Candidate, 2011

Before law school Jessica Reiss worked four years as an environmental, health, and safety coordinator in the automotive manufacturing industry. She managed compliance with EPA and OSHA regulations first at one facility and then as a regional coordinator responsible for 12 facilities throughout the Midwest. Her experience with EPA regulations and EPA inspectors inspired her to pursue environmental law. She received her bachelor of science from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana with double majors in public relations and religious studies.

Photo of Carey RosserCarey Rosser

JD Candidate, 2012

Carey Rosser graduated with high honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in pre-law. While at Georgia Tech, she worked for Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation in various departments involved with different phases of aircraft design and construction. While working on aircraft acoustic requirements, she collaborated with NASA for experimental design and data analysis. Prior to coming to Vermont Law School, Carey worked in Rwanda with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International on sustainability education and other programs for communities living at the edge of the Volcanoes National Park. At VLS, Carey is enthusiastically involved with the Campus Greening Committee.

Photo of Allie SilvermanAllie Silverman

JD Candidate, 2012

Allie Silverman graduated from Brown University with a BA in environmental studies, where she wrote an honors thesis on urban agriculture, community planning, and campus farming. After graduating, she lived in Panama on a Fulbright grant, where she implemented a solar rural electrification project that established a night school for adults and a community fund to run and maintain the energy systems. Allie then worked for almost three years at the Natural Resources Defense Council, where she coordinated a "BioGem" campaign in Chile to promote energy alternatives to an ill-conceived massive hydroelectric scheme.

Photo of Matthew SternMatthew Stern

JD Candidate, 2011

Matthew Stern graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 2008 with a BS in energy business and finance, and minors in economics and environmental economics. Matt has previously worked as a research assistant on several energy program evaluations; both for the State of Pennsylvania and in a collaborative effort between Penn State and the Ford Foundation. Most recently, he focused on evaluating energy efficiency programs targeted at benefiting rural, low income households. Matt was selected to attend the Sustainable Energy Fellowship in the summer of 2008, where he explored new technologies in alternative energy. Matt is currently pursuing his JD and Masters in Environmental Law and Policy at Vermont Law School. His interests include encouraging renewable energy development through market based policies.

Photo of Jonathan VoegeleJonathan Voegele

JD Candidate, 2012

Jonathan Voegele graduated from the University of Chicago in 2004 with an AB in political science and a minor in Slavic languages & literature. In 2006 he earned his MA in politics with an international politics specialization from New York University. While in graduate school, he worked as a research assistant at the Office of the New York State Attorney General and as a research analyst at the Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law. At the Center on Law and Security, Jonathan edited and researched for law review articles and three manuscripts on torture, al Qaeda and the war on terror which were later published. Jonathan then moved to Baltimore, MD, and worked for three years as a legal assistant in a cross-border corporate transactions and trade advisory practice at Steptoe & Johnson LLP in Washington, DC. At Steptoe, Jonathan assisted drafting licensing, supply and sourcing contracts, including those for wind turbines. During the summer of 2010, he worked at the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic at Vermont Law School.