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Executive Board
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Logan McPherson, 3L
Executive Chair
Logan has spent most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area but also lived in Honolulu for a few years, where she graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a B.A. in Women's Studies. Since moving to DC, Logan has become deeply involved in a multitude of animal rights and environmental issues, and has interned for the Humane Society Legislative Fund and clerked for the Center for Biological Diversity. When she’s not at school or work, Logan loves to spend her free time invested in music, dance, and political advocacy.
Casey Crandell, 3L
Vice Chair
Casey has lived all over the country but calls Arizona home. He's been in D.C. for the past few years though, working on sustainability issues in the federal government. He's continuing that work while focusing on environmental and energy law in the evenings. He plans to work in the policy and advocacy realm after graduation. In his free time, you can probably find him outdoors, either hiking, biking, or spending time with his dog.
Blake Turley, 3L
Finance Chair
Raised in Connecticut, Blake's interest lies in land conservation and clean energy. As an environmental lawyer, Blake will use his degree to make the world sustainable for future generations. In his free time, Blake watches funny cat videos, rides his mountain bike, and gardens.
Ellen Spicer, 2L
Communications Chair
Ellen grew up in Southern California and graduated from University of California, San Diego with a B.A. in Political Science. Prior to law school she worked in national parks sites across the country and spent time working on a major political campaign. Ellen hopes to use her law degree to help safeguard the environment and public lands. In her free time, you can find her cooking, hiking in and exploring local public lands, or just generally enjoying being outside.
Meghen Sullivan, 2L
Projects Chair
Meghen grew up in rural Vermont, enjoying the majesty of the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain. She received her Bachelors degree from North Carolina State University in Science, Technology, and Society (STS), with a concentration in Humans and the Environment. Meghen hopes to use her law degree to further policy and advocacy initiatives related to corporate compliance, renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, climate change, and environmental justice. In her free time, you can find her exploring Rock Creek Park, making sushi with her roommates, and obsessing over her friends pets.
Friends Gallery
Photos of Past WCL Environmental Law Society Events
The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief was founded to provide a forum for those interested in promoting sustainable economic development, environmental conservation, environmental justice, and biodiversity throughout the world.
"SDLP"
Email the publication to apply for a staff position, to subscribe, become a translator, or to submit an article!
"SDLP" is a student-run initiative at AUWCL that spans a broad range of environmental issues such as sustainable development; trade; renewable energy; environmental justice; air, water, and noise regulation; climate change and ecology; land use, conservation, and property rights; resource use and regulation; and wildlife, habitat preservation, biodiversity, and animal protection.
Our publication also focuses on reconciling the tensions between environmental sustainability, economic development, ecology, and human welfare.
The American University Office of Sustainability was founded in 2009 to help meet the university's goal of "acting on our values of social responsibility, service [and] an active pursuit of sustainability."
The office develops and supports campus initiatives that promote sustainability within the campus community.
AU is committed to building and operating spaces that are conducive to living, working, and learning and are environmentally friendly and healthy spaces.
Green buildings reduce their environmental impact through energy and water efficiency, low-impact and healthy building materials, and sustainable operations and maintenance procedures.
American University uses the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system to guide new construction and campus operations. The LEED rating system is a holistic green building rating system that emphasizes both reduced environmental impact and promoting human health. AU has several buildings certified under the LEED rating system.
The design of the Tenley Campus places a high priority on environmentally sustainable development principles. Key components include water and energy efficient systems, sustainable material selection, and interior environments that promote occupant health.
The Tenley Campus construction adheres to the University’s Green Building Policy, which supports the University’s goal of having a positive impact on the environment, as it relates to all university owned and operated facilities.Some of the green features in the Tenley Campus:
- Buildings are located to maximize public transportation options & access
- Bicycle use is promoted through amenities like locker rooms and showers, as well as over 200 bike rack spaces
- Infrastructure is provided for Electric Vehicle charging stations
- Open space on the site is maintained and maximized
- Storm water is managed for quantity and quality using on-site features such as rain gardens
- Light colored roof material is specified to minimize urban heat-island effect
- Buildings will utilize nearly 50% less water than typical buildings of similar size through the use of high efficiency fixtures
- A unique hydronic heating and cooling system will reduce energy consumption by more than 20%
- Construction procedures will divert more than 90% of construction debris from landfills
- Regionally-sourced material will make up at least 20% of the building
- Certified sustainably-harvested wood will be used on more than 50% of all wood on the project
American University is committed to strive for zero waste sent to landfill and incineration.
In 2010, AU adopted a Zero Waste Policy mandating the creation of a team to develop a plan for reducing and diverting 100% of the university's waste stream.
AU collects paper towel waste from all restrooms around campus separately. Student sustainability educators audited the campus waste stream and discovered that paper towels represent 13 percent of AU's waste.
The university is reducing solid waste by replacing bottled water with inline water filters.
In fall 2009, AU eliminated trays in the Terrace Dining Hall, reducing food waste by an estimated 32 percent.
The university reuses and recycles surplus furniture by partnering with several area surplus and reuse centers.
In 2009, the university recycled 43 percent of the solid waste generated on campus by presorting cans, glass, paper, cardboard, plastic bags, batteries, cell phone batteries, cell phones, and fluorescent lights.
We collect and recycle vehicle waste including lubricants, antifreeze, oil filters, tires, and batteries.
University-owned electronics equipment can be recycled bysimply e-mailing AUSurplus@american.edu.
Personal electronics waste can be recycled at our quarterly e-waste recycling drives.
We collect kitchen grease from TDR for recycling.
Local Environmental Getaways
Need to get away from the District? Check out these places!
Offering care to neglected, abused, or abandoned farm animals
The Billy Goat Trail is one of the most well known hikes in the Metro D.C. area, and for good reason. With nearly a mile of fun rock-hopping, and spectacular views of the Potomac River along the way, this circuit is loads of fun with plenty to see. We have the circuit rated as only a for difficulty, but be prepared to jump from rock to rock.
Rock Creek Park is truly a gem in our nation's capital.
This 1,754-acre city park was officially authorized in 1890, making it the 3rd national park to be designated by the federal government.
It offers visitors the opportunity to escape the bustle of the city and find a peaceful refuge, recreation, fresh air, majestic trees, wild animals, and thousands of years of human history.
Offering care to neglected, abused, or abandoned farm animals
Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary is a 400 acre non-profit refuge in Poolesville, Maryland for farm animals and wildlife that relies entirely on public donations for support.
Their mission is to offer care, rehabilitation, and permanent sanctuary for neglected, abused or abandoned farm animals, as well as providing a protected habitat for wildlife.
They promote compassion and the humane treatment of all animals by educating the public on farm animal and wildlife issues.
We are open for tours and visits by appointment.
POPLAR SPRING ANIMAL SANCTUARY
Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary
P.O. Box 507
Poolesville, MD 20837
Phone: 301-428-8128
info@animalsanctuary.orgEnvironmental Law Resources
Interested in Environmental Law? Check out these fabulous Envrionmental Protection Organizations!
Center for International Environmental Law
CIEL seeks a world where the law reflects the interconnection between humans and the environment, protects the dignity and equality of each person.
The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) is a public interest, not-for-profit environmental law firm founded in 1989 in the United States to strengthen international and comparative environmental law and policy around the world.
With offices in Washington, DC and Geneva, Switzerland, CIEL’s staff of international attorneys provide legal counsel and advocacy, policy research and capacity building in the areas of biodiversity, chemicals, climate change, human rights and the environment, international financial institutions, law and communities, and trade and sustainable development.
Because Life is Good . . .
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive.
The CWSC is the only nonprofit based in the United States solely dedicated to the advancement of water security and the nonpartisan, impartial analysis and improvement of water law.
Water security is a strategy that sets a clear purpose and direction for our efforts to guarantee we can meet current and future needs. Water is too essential a resource to leave its availability to chance. Our approach focuses on understanding the current role of law in advancing water security and identifying the opportunities to improve transparency, long-term management, and governance.
ECOLEX is an internet database providing the most comprehensive, global source of information on environmental law.
Operated jointly by the FAO, IUCN, and UNEP, it combines the environmental law information holdings of those three organizations.
ECOLEX contains comprehensive bibliographic and analytical information as well as full text links to more than 1,100 multilateral and bilateral agreements, 62,000 on national legislation, 420 court decisions, and 28,000 records on literature on law and policy.
Searching ECOLEX is easy. The portal offers a user-friendly Google-type feature by which the user can find information in all or selected datasets.
For the more advanced user, ECOLEX includes specially tailored search forms for each of the datasets.
ECOLEX covers all aspects of environmental and natural resources conservation, including subjects such as fresh and marine water, air and atmosphere, soil and land use, species and ecosystems, fisheries and forestry, hazardous substances and waste, as well as food and agriculture.
All information has been analyzed and indexed in a standardized way, with descriptors such as country, name, territory, region, keywords, etc. harmonized.
ECOLEX is free of charge and has a trilingual user interface that allows users to search in English, French, and Spanish.
We stand side by side with these communities in their struggle for justice.
EarthRights International (ERI) is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment, which we define as "earth rights."
We specialize in fact-finding, legal actions against perpetrators of earth rights abuses, training grassroots and community leaders, and advocacy campaigns.
Through these strategies, EarthRights International seeks to end earth rights abuses, to provide real solutions for real people, and to promote and protect human rights and the environment in the communities where we work.
Past Events
Check out these events at WCL, in the DMV area, and across the country!
