Jean Melious is a lawyer and a professor in the Environmental Studies department of Huxley College of the Environment, Western Washington University.  She is of counsel to Nossaman LLP, where she was formerly a partner, and has practiced land use and environmental law for the past three decades.  On a pro bono basis, she represented four Whatcom County citizens in challenges to the county’s compliance with the Growth Management Act, culminating in Hirst v. Whatcom County, a case that addresses the integration of land use and water law.

Jean has an M.Phil. degree in Urban Design and Regional Planning from the University of Edinburgh, which she attended as a Marshall Scholar, and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School.  She is admitted to practice in California and Washington.