Marcela E. von Vacano is Deputy Director of the Environmental Law Clinic.
Before joining the clinic, she spent twenty-seven years as an attorney advisor at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9, in San Francisco. She worked on judicial and administrative matters concerning the Clean Water, Safe Drinking, Endangered Species, Administrative Procedure, National Environmental Policy and Freedom of Information Acts. She had no adverse decisions in any of her cases other than in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in San Francisco v. EPA in 2025.
During her time at the EPA, von Vacano worked with inspectors, scientific experts, community stakeholders, local representatives, and industry attorneys, in addition to coordinating with EPA headquarters, the U.S. Department of Justice, States, and Tribes. From trial practice and advocacy developed through conducting two successful administrative hearings to persuasive writing of briefs for the EPA Environmental Appeals Board, U.S. District courts, the Ninth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court in defensive and enforcement matters, she gained key skills to support the next generation of attorneys.
Her past environmental advocacy work includes fighting for safe drinking water in California’s Central Valley; negotiating a $4 million conservation easement for The Nature Conservancy in a wetlands case; protecting endangered and threatened species in connection with water quality standards promulgated by the EPA; reducing transboundary water pollution at the Tijuana border; and defending the issuance of Clean Water Act permits that imposed more stringent limitations on polluters.
At the Environmental Law Clinic, von Vacano continues to advocate for public health and the environment, focusing on matters involving Tribes and under represented communities. As a political refugee from Bolivia and as a mother, she is committed to social and environmental justice.
Education
B.A., Wesleyan University (1991)
J.D., Berkeley Law (1997)