Author: giovanna.gismondi

Juliette A. Jackson, LLM ’24, is making meaningful contributions to the field of Tribal environmental justice with the publication of her article, Stop Killing the Klamath: Rights of Nature Protections with Tribal Law, the National Historic Preservation Act, and Collaborative Management Strategies for a Tribe on the Front Lines of Climate Change. The article examines how colonial land-use practices and Western legal frameworks have failed to protect the Klamath Tribes’ sacred fish species and ecosystems. Jackson calls for the integration of rights of Nature protections—rooted in Tribal law and federal statutes such as the National Historic Preservation Act—into existing co-stewardship and collaborative management agreements as culturally grounded and legally effective alternatives.

Her work has already attracted substantial attention, including a feature on the influential blog Turtle Talk.  She has presented her research at conferences and other speaking engagements: University of Cuenca – Ecuador’s Rights of Nature Conference, Guest Speaker at Google’s Native American Heritage Month Event, and panelist at the 2025 Bioneers Conference. Her insights will soon reach even wider audiences through the Young & Indigenous podcast.

Maria Jose Alarcon was recently accepted as the first online SJD candidate in GW Law’s Environmental Law program. Originally from Ecuador and currently based in the United Kingdom, Maria is a qualified lawyer in New York, Spain, and Ecuador, and a Solicitor in England & Wales. She brings more than a decade of international legal experience to her doctoral studies. Her academic focus lies in public international law and international environmental law. She will pursue a dissertation on climate change litigation under the supervision of Assistant Dean for Environmental Law Studies, Randall Abate. Her research explores state responsibility for climate-related harm and its implications for reparations.

Maria’s career has unfolded at the intersection of climate litigation, investment arbitration, and international law. She has served as counsel in the ICJ’s climate advisory opinion proceedings, worked as an associate at leading international law firms, and contributed as a legal researcher at Leiden University, the Sabin Center for Climate Change, the Global Financial Markets Center at Duke University School of Law, and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. She also serves as an Associate Fellow at the Center for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL). Maria has taught international environmental law and frequently writes on climate change and dispute resolution in leading academic and policy publications. She received a Climate Change Law Diploma from the University of Cambridge (2023) and completed Summer Courses in Public and Private International Law at The Hague Academy (2021). In 2020, she earned an LLM from Duke University School of Law, specializing in environmental law, and was awarded both a Merit Scholarship and the International Peace Scholarship. While at Duke, she served as an editor of the Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law and contributed as an associate attorney to the Working Group for the Amazon at the Nicholas School for the Environment.

By Randall S. Abate, Assistant Dean for Environmental Law Studies

Malaika Moiz named first Ocean Equity LLM scholar

GW Law’s Environmental Law program is proud to be the first in the nation to offer a scholarship dedicated to supporting one Master of Laws (LLM) degree candidate each year in pursuing a thesis project focused on ocean equity. Beginning in the Fall 2025–Spring 2026 academic year, this initiative expands our program’s emphasis on environmental justice and human rights and environmental protection, empowering students to lead in the emerging field of ocean equity. Ocean equity seeks to protect the rights of communities disproportionately affected by environmental challenges. It focuses on protecting small-scale and Indigenous fishing communities’ access to fisheries, ensuring their livelihoods and cultural heritage are preserved while leveraging their stewardship of marine ecosystems to combat anthropogenic threats such as pollution, overfishing, and climate change. On a global scale, ocean equity also strives to secure equitable access to fisheries for nations in the Global South.