About Us

Our Mission

We don’t want environmental law students to forget why they came here. One great beauty of pursuing a career to help affect environmental change is the inherent personal connection to the work. The symbiotic relationship between us—especially as environmental law students—and our natural environmental can provide an incessant source of motivation and should not be lost. Thus, the mission of the Environmental Law Caucus is to provide a forum for law students to connect with the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest and embrace environmentalism on a personal level.

2022-2023 Board Members

President: Nathan Williams (he/him), Class of 2024, nathanwilliams@lclark.edu

Nathan is a 2L student pursuing a degree in environmental law. He is a born-and-raised Portlander who graduated from Lawrence University in 2020, studying Philosophy and Environmental Science. He loves getting outside and exploring the beautiful PNW, but welcomes the rainy season as a chance to get cozy and lose himself in a good book.

 

Vice President: Anneli Cers (she/her), Class of 2024, annelicers@lclark.edu

Anneli is a 2L from Chicago, IL. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021 with a BS in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and a minor in Environmental Economics and Law. She is interested in water law and climate matters, and enjoys cycling, running, swimming, and cooking.

 

Secretary: Talia Thuet (she/her), Class of 2024, taliathuet@lclark.edu

Talia is a 2L from Olympia, Washington and graduated from Washington State University in 2021 where she majored in Neuroscience with a minor in Environmental Science. Talia is interested in energy and environmental law and hopes to pursue a career in the public sector. In her free time, she likes to hike, ski, kayak, and generally spend time outdoors.

 

Treasurer: Elise Koepke (she/her), Class of 2024, elisekoepke@lclark.edu

Elise is a 2L from Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from Georgia Tech in 2020 with a BS in Earth & Atmospheric Sciences and minors in Public Policy and Global Development. She is interested in energy law, environmental law, and sustainable development. Outside of class, she enjoys running and biking on the waterfront, live music, and exploring the Portland food scene.

 

Programming Chair: Andrew Kihn (he/him), Class of 2024, andrewkihn@lclark.edu

Andrew is a new transfer student to Lewis and Clark with a focus in clean energy law. He is quickly falling in love with Oregon and will jump at any opportunity to get outdoors. Reach out to Andrew if you’re ever looking for a ride to the coast in the summer or to the slopes when the snow is good!

 

1L Representative: Aaron Kline (he/him), Class of 2025, aaronkline@lclark.edu

Aaron is from Tempe, Arizona and majored in Conservation Biology at Arizona State University. Aaron is interested in environmental law and animal law. In his free time, he likes to hike, watch reality TV, and go thrift shopping!

 

LLM Representative: Ayman Irfan (she/her), Class of 2023, aymani@lclark.edu

Ayman is an International LLM Candidate for the Environmental Law, Energy and Natural Resources Program at the Lewis & Clark Law School. She is from Pakistan where she pursued her law and undergraduate degree from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), this past year. Ayman enjoys rowing, swimming and trekking in her free time. She hopes to help save the whales and swim with them too one day!

 

Leadership

Elected board members, with the assistance of 1L representatives to the student body, govern the Environmental Law Caucus. The leadership of ELC aims to embody good stewardship and an appreciation of our environment in every activity we do. Please contact us if you are interested in leadership opportunities with ELC.

Annual Events 

• Swift Watch at Chapman School - September
• Mushaboom! Mushroom Hunt Weekend in Mount Hood National Forest: October - November
• Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Oregon: Early March
• Hikes, adventures, volunteer projects, and good times throughout the year

Stewardship Projects

The ELC encourages getting dirty with the earthy. We promote events and ideas dedicated to shaping trajectories of social-ecological change at local-to-global scales. Projects include:

• Ivy pulls
• Responsible food choices
• Tree planting
• Edible garden/composting
• Seed swap and planting

Please contact us with your own ideas and suggestions!

Sustainability at Lewis & Clark

Defining and achieving “sustainability” is a work in progress at Lewis & Clark. All three campuses work together to form the Sustainability Council. Members of the Lewis & Clark law school community work to ensure that we have a voice in this initiative. More information here.