– Class of 2023 –
Kevin Chiu
After growing up in Connecticut, Kevin moved out west to attend the University of Southern California. There, he studied Chemical Engineering and was interested in helping the energy industry evolve. After college, Kevin eventually transitioned to environmental regulatory work. As an Air Quality Engineer for a government agency in Southern California, he developed a deep respect for attorneys who worked on cases that made a noticeable impact. Kevin came to law school so he could make similar differences through his work. He is now exploring his interests in Environmental and Energy Law, Criminal Law, and Business Law. In his free time, Kevin enjoys almost all sports, hiking, the beach, and playing video games.
Taylor Graham
Taylor Graham (he/him/his) is a first-year law student at UC Berkeley School of Law. He is a student researcher for the Native American Legal Assistance Project and a member of the Ecology Law Quarterly. This semester, he is actively involved in a model legislation project with Berkeley’s Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice.
Before coming to Berkeley, Taylor was a documentary filmmaker. He was named as a National Geographic Explorer for his work, which focused on the nexus of water justice and climate change in the American Southwest. He also worked for the nonprofit Utah Rivers Council, where he researched and reported on water policy challenges in Utah while supporting organization legislative initiatives.
Taylor graduated summa cum laude from Ithaca College with a B.S. in Emerging Media. He was a Fulbright Scholar in India, where he produced films documenting the formation of artificial glaciers in Ladakh, a kayaking first descent of a dam-threatened Himalayan river in Uttarakhand, and the role of women in an unauthorized urban settlement in Rajasthan.
Taylor grew up in Durango, Colorado, where he developed an appreciation for the complex environmental justice issues affecting the Four Corners region and the Colorado Plateau. This coming summer, Taylor will be a judicial extern for the Honorable Jaqueline Nguyen on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Elias Garcia
Geraldine Burrola
Born and raised in California’s rural Central Valley, Geraldine is interested in exploring the intersectional laws and policies driving water distribution and equitable water access. Geraldine is a proud Double-Golden Bear who received B.A. and B.S. degrees in Geography and Society and Environment at UC Berkeley. After discovering her passion for public service as an undergraduate student, she relocated to Southern California to work for a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the foster youth program experience throughout the United States. She eventually made her way back to the environmental movement and joined Los Angeles Waterkeeper as a grant writer to fight for clean, safe, and drinkable water for all Angelenos.
At Berkeley Law, Geraldine is an active member of Ecology Law Quarterly, the Wage Justice Clinic, and La Alianza Law Students of Latin American Descent. When she is not at home taking care of her plants, Geraldine enjoys sampling the Bay Area’s best vegan eats and coffee shops. She is thrilled to be back at Berkeley and excited to contribute to the environmental law community as a CLEE Scholar.
Imani Martinez
Imani is from a small beach town in Southern California. She graduated from Georgetown University with a B.S. in Science, Technology, and International Affairs with a concentration in Energy and Environment. Imani loves all things conservation and is especially passionate about ocean protection. Currently, Imani is working with the Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment conducting research on how to best implement offshore wind energy off the coast of California. Imani is also an active member of Law Students of African Descent, La Alianza, and Ecology Law Quarterly. When not in school, Imani enjoys baking, swimming, hiking, and playing rugby.
– Class of 2024 –
Allison Pritchard
Originally from Canada, Allison comes to Berkeley Law with a passion for environmental science, policy, and regulation. Allison studied Applied Animal Biology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada as a Loran Scholar. During her undergraduate degree, Allison held policy-related internships with the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the UN Environment – World Conservation
Monitoring Centre. She was also the President of the UBC Parks Canada Club, one of the largest environmental organizations on campus. Following graduation, she worked in the private sector as an Environmental Consultant and Wildlife Biologist ensuring that the construction of the largest carbon capture initiative in North America was compliant with environmental laws and regulations. Allison hopes to use her Berkeley law degree to work at the intersection of policy, science, and law – specifically as it pertains to wildlife habitat and biodiversity. Outside of school, Allison enjoys ultra-endurance athletics and woodworking.
Tiana Wilson-Blindman
Tiana (she/her/wíŋyaŋ) is a first-year law student from Pine Ridge, SD (Oglála Lakota), but comfortably calls Wyoming and Colorado home as well, as her family is spread all across the Intermountain West. She is a 1L Representative for the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA) and a member of the Clean Energy Leaders in Law (CELL) student-initiated pro-bono services project.
Prior to Berkeley, Tiana received her Masters of Environmental Management from Yale School of the Environment, where she focused on natural resource co-management, namely between Tribal and non-Tribal governments. Naturally, environmental justice, race, energy sovereignty, and community-driven climate responses converged. She also received her BA in Environmental Studies and Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
She has worked in conservation policy in the West, environmental education, environmental justice consulting, and philanthropy and is excited to steer that confluence in law and policy to assist in making the changes needed on the ground in Indian Country, EJ communities, and ultimately, the global climate. In her free time, she can be found outside with her Nikon in hand spending time with the land and getting that perfect shot.
Sierra Killian
Sierra Killian (she/her/hers) grew up in Portland, Oregon, and graduated from Stanford University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Earth Systems, an interdisciplinary environmental science program. During her undergrad education, she had the opportunity to dip her toes into a variety of environmental law and policy topics through internships at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, and NRDC. After graduation, she worked for two years as a research associate at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C., and for a year as a legal assistant at Metropolitan Public Defenders in Portland.
Sierra is particularly interested in climate adaptation and resilience, especially in coastal areas and in public utilities. At Berkeley, she is a member of Ecology Law Quarterly, the Clean Energy Leaders in Law student-led pro bono project, and the Central Valley alternative spring break service trip.
Kelly Cook
Kelly Cook (she/her) is a first-year law student at UC Berkeley School of Law. As a law student she is interested in climate change mitigation, with a particular focus on regulations, funding, and the government’s role in facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Before coming to Berkeley, Kelly worked as a consultant at a boutique firm specializing in California environmental advocacy and strategic planning for nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies. While there she oversaw a variety of client projects involving coalition coordination, written and oral advocacy on state policy, and public education on environmental issues. She was also closely involved in the development and implementation of an L.A. County funding measure that now generates $285 million annually for stormwater management.
Kelly graduated summa cum laude from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. At Berkeley Law, she participates in the pro bono project, Clean Energy Leaders in Law. She is also a member of the journal, Ecology Law Quarterly, and the Berkeley Energy Resources Collaborative. For fun, she loves to hike, tend to her houseplants, and play with her feline companion, Bruce.
Benjamin Lester
Ben comes to BerkeleyLaw after more than a decade with the National Outdoor Leadership School. As a senior field instructor with NOLS, Ben taught leadership, risk management, and environmental studies to groups ranging from 9th graders to faculty from the US Naval Academy on backcountry expeditions ranging from 7 days to more than a month. When not in the field, Ben helped run several departments within NOLS. He managed curriculum publications, client relationships, and most recently business operations for the school’s 1000+ annual wilderness medicine courses.
Additional Scholars: Renee Serota
– 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.