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Faculty
Staff

Jennifer K. Rushlow

Dean, Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment
Faculty Director, Environmental Law Center
Professor of Law
Dean's Office
Environmental Law Center

BA, Oberlin College

JD, Northeastern University School of Law

MPH, Tufts Medical School

802-831-1136

Curriculum Vitae

Jennifer K. Rushlow

Biography

Jennifer Rushlow is Dean of the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, Professor of Law, and Faculty Director of the Environmental Law Center at Vermont Law School.

Dean Rushlow received her Juris Doctor from Northeastern University School of Law and Master of Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine. Dean Rushlow practiced law at the non-profit advocacy organization Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and the law firm Anderson & Kreiger in Boston. Her practice focused on environmental and land use law, climate change, agriculture, transportation, and environmental justice.

While at CLF, Dean Rushlow argued and won a landmark climate law case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Kain v. Department of Environmental Protection, 474 Mass. 278 (2016). She also founded CLF’s Farm and Food program, including the Legal Food Hub, a free legal services clearinghouse for farmers and food businesses.

She was named a 2016 Lawyer of the Year by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly for her work on the Kain case. Mayor Martin Walsh also honored Dean Rushlow with a Greenovate Boston Award in 2016 for her work on the Legal Food Hub. In 2015, she was honored by Governor Deval Patrick with an appointment to serve on the Massachusetts Zero Emission Vehicle Commission.

Dean Rushlow published an article about the Kain case, “Behind the Curtain: Insiders’ View of Developing and Enforcing State Climate Change Laws,” 50 Envtl. L. Rep. 10466 (2020). In addition to climate law and policy, Dean Rushlow has published on issues related to air pollution, environmental health, land use, administrative, and municipal law. Dean Rushlow regularly appears in the media, including coverage by the New York Times, Time Magazine, National Public Radio, the Boston Globe, E&E News, and others.

Dean Rushlow serves as Chair of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Section on Environmental Law. She is also appointed by the Vermont courts as Reporter for the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence, for which she authors Reporter’s Notes for rules amendments. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts and Vermont, as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First and Ninth Circuits.

Dean Rushlow’s courses taught include: Air Pollution Law and Policy, Climate Change and the Law, the Environmental and Natural Resources Clinic, Evidence, and Food Justice and Sustainability.

Publications

Books

With Zygmunt J.B. Plater et al., Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society (6th ed. forthcoming).

Articles

"Up Next for Infrastructure: All Eyes on Federal Agencies" (with Sandra Santiago), Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (December 2021).

"Wildfires, Soot Standards, and an EPA in Flux" (with Ciara Hopkins), Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (January 2021).

Behind the Curtain: Insiders’ View of Developing and Enforcing State Climate Change Laws,” (with Sue Reid), The Environmental Law Reporter (June 2020).

"Monsanto’s Roundup Litigation in 2020: Restitution for Migrant Farmworkers?" in Vermont Journal of Environmental Law (December 2019).

Jennifer Rushlow, Rapid DNA Database Expansion and Disparate Minority Impact, 20 GeneWatch no. 4 (2007).

Other

Jennifer Rushlow and Winton Pitcoff, Public Policy Advocacy Skills Guide for Urban Farmers (Conservation Law Foundation & Massachusetts Food System Collaborative, 2018).

Jennifer Rushlow, Gina Coplon-Newfield, Mark LeBel, and Emily Norton, Charging Up: The Role of States, Utilities, and the Auto Industry in Dramatically Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States (Conservation Law Foundation, Sierra Club, & Acadia Center 2015).

Ben Bowell, Cris Coffin, Christophe Courchesne, Ivy Frignoca, Max Greene, Anthony Iarrapino, Jennifer Rushlow, and Kathryn Ruhf, New England Food Policy: Building a Sustainable Food System (American Farmland Trust, Conservation Law Foundation, & Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group 2014).

Chapters

Randi J. Eisner and Jennifer K. Rushlow, Smart Growth (G.L. c. 40R and 40S) in Massachusetts Zoning Manual (Martin R. Healy & Peter A. Alpert eds., MCLE 5th ed. 2015).

William L. Lahey and Jennifer K. Rushlow, Coastal Zone Law in Massachusetts Environmental Law (Gregor I. McGregor & R. Lisle Baker eds., MCLE 3rd ed. 2010).

Kevin D. Batt and Jennifer K. Rushlow, Municipal Law in Handbook of Legal Research in Massachusetts (Mary Ann Neary, Ruth G. Matz, & Kevin D. Batt eds., MCLE 3rd ed. 2009).

Presentations

Panelist, “Environmental Justice and the Historic Exclusion of BIPOC in Environmentalism,” Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, University of Oregon School of Law (March 6, 2022).

Moderator, Emerging Environmental Law Curriculum Roundtable Series (with Jonathan Rosenbloom), Vermont Law School (Jan. 28, Feb. 25, and Mar. 25, 2021).

Panelist, "Policy Advocacy: Saving Your Business and the Planet," See Change Sessions 2021 (March 24, 2021).

Panel Speaker, “Climate Change, Farm Workers, and Regulatory Rollbacks in the US,” Food and Our Changing Climate, University of Connecticut School of Law, April 26, 2019.

Presenter, “Kain v. DEP: Climate Litigation in State Court,” Virtual Environmental Law Speaker Series at Mercer Law School, March 18, 2019.

Panelist, “Feeding the Warming Planet” Food Justice Law Symposium, Harvard Law School, March 9, 2019.

Invited Speaker, “Legal Resources for Farmers,” 2018 Northeast Association of State Departments of Agriculture Annual Meeting, June 6.

Panel Speaker, “Land Access in the City: From The Ground Up,” 6th Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference, Bunker Hill College, March 17, 2018.

Panel Speaker, “Changing the Food System Through Policy Advocacy,” 6th Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference, Bunker Hill College, March 16, 2018.

Panel Speaker, “CLE – Engaging and Working with an Expert Witness and Outside Counsel,” Conservation Law Foundation, January 12, 2018.

Invited Speaker, “CLE – Down on the Farm: Environmental Challenges and Opportunities in Massachusetts Agriculture,” Boston Bar Association, December 6, 2018.

Panel Speaker, “Land Access for Urban Agriculture,” 2016 Farmland Access Conference, Maine Farmland Trust, December 5, 2016.

Invited Speaker, “Writing Ordinances: Process and Practical Steps,” Municipal Planner Urban Agriculture Webinar, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, November 17, 2018.

Invited Panel Speaker, “Direct Legal Services for Farmers as a Means for Environmental and Animal Welfare,” Animal Law and Environmental Law: Building Collaboration Conference, Yale Law School, November 5, 2016.

Invited Speaker, “MA Supreme Judicial Court Decision in the Global Warming Solutions Act Case: A Litigation Update,” Boston Bar Association, June 14, 2016.

Panel Speaker, “Successful Policy Interventions,” 6th Annual New England Food Summit, Housatonic Community College, June 8–9, 2016.

Speaker, “MA Local Food Action Plan,” Massachusetts Agriculture Day, Massachusetts State House, April 5, 2016.

Panel Speaker, “Farmland Access, Just Food?,” Forum on Land Use, Rights and Ecology, Harvard Law School, March 25, 2016.

Presenter and Co-Facilitator, “Urban Agriculture Planning” Pre-Conference Workshop, 4th Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference, Northeastern University, March 12, 2016.

Speaker, “Charging Up: The Role of States, Utilities, and the Auto Industry in Dramatically Accelerating Electric Vehicle Adoption,” Acadia Center, Conservation Law Foundation, and Sierra Club Webinar, November 17, 2015.

Panel Speaker, “Movers and Shakers in Food Law and Policy,” Food Law Leadership Summit, Harvard Law School, October 3, 2015.

Panel Speaker, “Urban Farmers and Food Entrepreneurs—Do You Need A Lawyer?,” 3rd Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference, Worcester State University, March 28, 2015.

Panel Speaker, “Land in the City: Access and Development,” 3rd Annual Massachusetts Urban Farming Conference, Worcester State University, March 28, 2015.

Panel Speaker, “Food Justice,” Global Food, Local Solutions Conference, Vermont Law School, March 27, 2015.

Invited Speaker, Legal Factors in Food Policy: Bostons Article 89 and Urban Agriculture,Northeastern University, September 24, 2014.

Invited Speaker, New England Food Policy Report,Massachusetts Food Policy Council, September 5, 2014.

Invited Speaker, State Efforts to Recruit and Retain Farmers and Provide Local Foods,Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference, August 3–6, 2014.

Speaker, New England Food Policy,4th Annual New England Food Summit, Food Solutions New England, June 12–13, 2014.

Speaker, Reducing Farmland Conversion,New England Food Policy: Building a Sustainable Food System Webinar Series, Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Conservation Law Foundation, and American Farmland Trust, May 14, 2014.

Session Leader, Career Paths for Students Lawyering in Sustainability: Pursuing Innovative Endeavors With Legal Tools Both Old and New,Lawyering for the Sustainable City Conference, Northeastern University School of Law, March 21, 2014.

Invited Speaker, The Keystone XL Pipeline: Talking the Tar Sands Boom and its Impacts,Boston Bar Association, March 18, 2014.

Invited Speaker, Legal Resources for Urban Farmers,Urban Farming Conference, Northeastern University, March 8, 2014.

Panel Speaker, Local Food Movement,Local Environmental Action Conference, Northeastern University, March 2, 2014.

Invited Speaker, Cultivating Local, Healthy Food: Urban Agriculture Initiatives & Pro Bono Opportunities,Boston Bar Association, February 27, 2014.

Invited Speaker, Cultivating Local, Healthy Food: Urban Agriculture Initiatives & Pro Bono Opportunities,Boston Bar Association, February 27, 2014.

Panel Speaker, Overcoming Barriers to Cultivating Urban Agriculture,Land Use Law Centers 12th Annual Land Use and Sustainable Development Conference, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, December 6, 2013.

Invited Speaker, Putting it All Together: Strategic Tips for Approaching Environmental Review Including EIS/EIR Design and Preparation,Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Seminar, Law Seminars International, November 7, 2013.

Invited Panel Speaker, Environmental Justice Panel Discussion,Center for Energy and Environmental Law, University of Connecticut School of Law, October 28, 2013.

Speaker, Food Safety Produce,3rd Annual New England Food Summit, University of Southern Maine, June 1314, 2013.

Panel Speaker, Current Food System Issues,” Local Environmental Action Conference, Northeastern University, March 10, 2013.

Organizer and Speaker, Massachusetts Electric VehicleRoundtable, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, March 7, 2013.

Invited Speaker, “Food Law and Policy Career Panel,” Harvard Law School, November 14, 2012.

Invited Speaker, Environmental and Food Justice Law,” Black Law Students Association, Harvard Law School, October 15, 2012.

Invited Panel Speaker, “Environmental Advocacy Law,” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1, June 14, 2012.

Podcast guest, "Essential Yet Unprotected: Farmworkers in America," Hothouse Earth Podcast (June 2020).

Awards & Accomplishments

Awards, Honors or Grants

Massachusetts Lawyer of the Year Award, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, 2016

Greenovate Boston Award, City of Boston, 2016