– Class of 2025 –
Daija Chambers
Daija is a 1L from Houston, Texas. She attended The University of Texas at Austin where she majored in Government and Sustainability Studies, as well as participated in the Liberal Arts Honors program. In college she studied abroad in Ecuador, taking a class that focused on interactions between the environment and Ecuadorian society. Furthermore, in college she focused on environmental justice and racism. While on campus, she co-founded the university’s first environmental justice and minority focused sustainability student organization, Coloring Environmentalism. Through this organization, she planned numerous volunteer and fundraising initiatives for vulnerable communities in Austin. She also spent time as a Community Initiatives Intern with NATiVE Solar planning projects to address access to solar and living wage jobs for vulnerable communities across Texas.
Daija is currently a member of the Clean Energy Leaders in Law and Free the Land Project SLPS. She is excited to explore how the law can be a tool for addressing sustainability and environmental justice issues.
Ryan Laws
Ryan Laws is a first-year law student at UCB. Ryan is from Central Point, Oregon, a small town in Southern Oregon. As the son of a firefighter, Ryan was surrounded by constant information about fires and climate. As the town he grew up in would fill up with smoke for longer and longer each summer, Ryan was energized to begin working on how to solve this problem. Ryan attended the University of Oregon and graduated summa cum laude with majors in Political Science and Environmental Studies in 2022. During his time as an undergraduate student, Ryan volunteered and interned with a variety of environmental law and conservation organizations. Ryan served as an intern for the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide and helped compile their plastic law library. Ryan also assisted in the co-authoring of the report “Keeping Promises: Providing Public Access to Hetch Hetchy Valley, Yosemite National Park” for the organization Restore Hetch Hetchy. Ryan continues to advocate for social and environmental justice issues in and around National Parks. Ryan is most interested in topics of water, environmental justice, and fire.
Grace Li
Grace Li (she/her) is a first-year law student at the UC Berkeley School of Law. Her research interests include climate change mitigation with a focus on corporate accountability and environmental justice. She is also interested in the connections between indigenous rights, land use, and water.
Before coming to Berkeley, Grace worked as a paralegal for the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental nonprofit headquartered in Boston, MA. She supported the Strategic Litigation program, a team of litigators bringing primarily federal court lawsuits that seek to address climate liability, nutrient pollution, emerging contaminants (PFAS/PFOA), plastics, and environmental justice in the New England region. Her team faced Big Oil in federal court with novel Clean Water Act and Resource, Conservation, and Recovery Act (RCRA) theories. A few of their opponents included ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, and Gulf Oil.
Grace graduated magna cum laude with honors from Boston University (BU) with a B.A. in International Relations and a B.S. in Communication. While attending BU, Grace served as the Director of Environmental Affairs for the BU Student Government.
Will Reynolds
Will Reynolds (he/him/his) is a first-year law student at Berkeley Law. He is interested in governmental regulations, specifically involving clean energy, technology, and the environment. Will grew up in New Hampshire and moved to California before enrolling at UC San Diego. There, he graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Political Science.
Prior to law school, Will worked as a research associate for a Prop 65 enforcement group. Working with a citizen plaintiff group, he and his firm were able to rid many consumer products of carcinogens. His experience drafting settlements, researching products, and working with industry experts allowed him to use his knowledge of political science and public policy to work on behalf of Californians and the environment. Outside of school and work, he enjoys the outdoors. He also participates in recreational sports like basketball, skiing, and golf
Liam Gunn
John Murray
Prior to coming to Berkeley Law, John worked as a Climate Change Advisory Consultant with the Environmental Resource Management Group (ERM) as well as a Capital Markets Associate with PNC Bank. At ERM, John worked with large clients in sectors ranging from finance and real estate to chemicals and building products. John helped them form a data-based understanding of the most salient climate-related risks and opportunities for their businesses. At PNC Bank, John specialized in tailoring a wide range of capital markets products to the needs of financial institution clients.
John graduated summa cum laude from Boston College, majoring in Philosophy and economics. At Berkeley Law, John is a member of the Ecology Law Quarterly and the Workers’ Rights Clinic. For fun, John likes to backpack, rock climb, brew beer, and read books.
Additional Scholars:
Ian Feather
Matthew Kenney
Andrea “Andrew” Olivei
– Class of 2026 –
Abby Neal
Abby (she/her) is from Kansas, and studied Environmental Studies and Political Science at the University of Kansas. As an undergraduate, she developed an interdisciplinary understanding of environmental issues by researching prairie plant ecology and the geopolitics of intergovernmental climate reports, interning at environmental policy nonprofits at the local and federal level and in the office of Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, and by helping to found her university’s beekeeping club. After graduation, Abby spent a year volunteering as a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service, where she saw firsthand the impact climate change is already having on communities affected by wildfire. Finally, she spent a year developing and implementing federal air quality policy at the U.S. EPA.
Abby is interested in environmental justice and climate change, and hopes to focus on facilitating a just transition away from fossil fuels while supporting frontline communities in the pursuit of climate justice. In her free time, Abby enjoys hiking, camping, reading, and trying to find the best loaf of sourdough in the Bay Area.
Caillie Roach
Caillie’s LinkedIn
Caillie is a 1L with a passion to apply her legal knowledge to the intersection of climate policy and Native American tribal sovereignty. She has spent most of her life in Southern California and is a member of the Osage Nation. Her self-designed B.S. in Environmental Communication and Policy at the University of Redlands kindled a career in climate policy. 5 years of interning and working at Citizens’ Climate Lobby to build the political will for a federal carbon price has provided a foundation for a future in persuasive, calculated advocacy. Along the way, non-partisanship, effective communication, active listening, and empathy became core values that she brings to her professional and personal relationships. Outside of Berkeley Law, you’ll find her running, practicing yoga, spending time outdoors, or playing with her cats, Dill and Pickles.
Felicia Paradiso
Felicia Paradiso comes to Berkeley from the Garden State, where she has been exploring areas of food justice and sustainable agriculture for the last several years. Felicia graduated from Rutgers University in 2022 with degrees in Environmental Policy, Institutions and Behavior (EPIB) and Economics. While in school, she completed several research projects related to food distribution and access, including her senior thesis project, which evaluated networks of farms and emergency food distributors in New Jersey.
Felicia’s passion for food justice is grounded in experience within alternative food systems. Most recently, she completed a farming apprenticeship at the Community Supported Garden at Genesis Farm, one of the oldest CSA farms in the country. There, she raised vegetables, tended chickens, and saved seed. Most importantly, she witnessed the incredible value of growing food for and within a robust community. Felicia is very excited to use her legal education to continue to act in service of a more loving and equitable food future.
Katya Perez
Katya is a first-year law student at UC Berkeley. Born and raised in San Diego, California, Katya has been passionate about environmental advocacy from an early age. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and a B.A. in Archaeology.
During her undergraduate degree, Katya studied the interdisciplinary relationships of environmental and archaeological issues. She has participated in anthropological and archaeological research in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Croatia. Katya is interested in how climate change threatens cultural and environmental resources. Throughout her research endeavors, she has analyzed how the archaeological past can inform sustainability initiatives for the future. Katya has also led a research project at Altasea at the Port of Los Angeles, where her efforts assisted the kelp aquaculture research facility. She is excited to continue exploring the connections between environmental studies, archaeology, and law at UC Berkeley.
Prior to starting law school, Katya worked in the education sector of an environmental nonprofit focused on increasing access to clean energy in California. Katya developed environmental science lessons, produced an energy and water audit internship program for high school students, and led educational events in San Diego. Outside of school and work, Katya enjoys practicing and teaching yoga, running marathons, surfing, and reading.
Additional Scholars:
Kevyn Hadley
– Class of 2027 –
Valorie Lam
Valorie Lam (she/her) is a first-year law student at Berkeley Law. Valorie is from Little Rock, Arkansas. She attended the University of Southern California where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and minors in GIS & Sustainability Science and Forensics & Criminality. Her interests include clean energy, environmental justice, and corporate social responsibility.
Prior to coming to Berkeley, Valorie worked on a variety of a environmental and food justice research projects. As a researcher for USC’s Spatial Sciences Institute, she aided in the making of Food Base LA, an interactive dashboard of food insecurity and nutrition access throughout LA County. She conducted an independent research project under a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, investigating the impacts of gender and conflict-induced migration on small-scale farmer livelihood outcomes in Uganda. She has also interned and volunteered with environmental organizations, including TreePeople and Solar Rights Alliance. Outside of school, Valorie enjoys baking, hiking, and cooking.
Hildi Gabel
Hildi Gabel (she/her) grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She studied biology as an undergraduate at Amherst College, where she did research on photosynthesis rates in tomato plants and host-shift disease dynamics among Silene plants. She also pursued coursework in climate impacts on cold weather terrestrial ecosystems. After graduation, she worked in Boston as a fundraiser and grant-proposal writer for a Bangladesh-based university supporting gender equity. She then spent two years working as a paralegal for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Energy and Ratepayer Advocacy Division, which fights for fair energy pricing and more equitable, consumer-friendly practices among energy companies. As a 1L at Berkeley Law, Hildi is very excited to explore adaptive ecosystem management, utility regulation, and migration related to the environment. She looks forward to learning from the committed and interdisciplinary environmental community at Berkeley!
Abbie Sedillos
Abbie’s Linkedin
Abbie Sedillos (she/her) is a first-year J.D. candidate at Berkeley Law. Abbie is from the Los Angeles area, and she graduated from Northeastern University with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Political Science. She is interested in natural resources and land use, specifically as it relates to species protection and environmental justice.
While at Northeastern, Abbie interned at Conservation Law Foundation, supporting attorneys who addressed Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act violations in New England. She also helped draft legislation to protect blue carbon ecosystems while interning at The Nature Conservancy, and she researched urban renewable energy solutions while interning for a Massachusetts State Senator. After graduation, Abbie explored land use and development while working for the planning department of a local government. Additionally, she developed her passion for conservation at the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, where she taught children about local ecology, grew native plants, and tracked threatened species in nature preserves. Abbie is excited to learn how to use the law as a tool for environmental protection.
Sophia Benzoni
Sophia Benzoni (she/her) grew up in South Pasadena, Los Angeles. She attended San Francisco State University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Environmental Studies, a B.A. in English Literature, and a certificate in Climate Change Causes, Impacts, and Solutions.