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Internships in Water Law & Policy

CELP invites law students who will be completing their second year to spend a summer pursuing projects to protect the rivers and aquifers of western Washington and the Columbia River basin.  Interns are essential to our work.

We seek a legal intern with demonstrated interest in environmental issues to work on projects aimed at establishing protected instream flows.  Qualified candidates will have completed their 2L year and taken an environmental law course.  Coursework or clinical experience in administrative law is preferred.

CELP is now accepting applications for a summer 2021 internship.  Please contact Dan Von Seggern, CELP’s Staff Attorney, for more information.  (dvonseggern@celp.org)

2020 Interns

Sara Gaylon

Sara is a rising 3L at Vermont Law School and received her Bachelor’s in Economics & History from the University of Oregon. Prior to beginning law school, Sara worked for the California State Water Resources Control Board. Sara became interested in water law because she was raised in an environmentally-focused family and has always had a passion for protecting our natural resources. Sara grew up in the outdoors, camping and hiking in the Sierra Nevadas. Now, she’s enjoying the Green Mountains in Vermont.

Jennifer Seely

Jennifer served as a student extern with CELP during spring 2020. She sythesized law and science to draft a comment opposing a proposed flood control dam in the Chehalis basin, advocating instead for a resilient landscape design approach that would better serve all upstream and downstream Chehalis River communities.

Jennifer is a student at the University of Washington School of Law. She received her Bachelor’s in Anthropology with a concentration in environmental studies from Kenyon College. Two of her most formative experiences were volunteering on two backcountry trail crews in high school, at Mt. Rainier National Park and Olympic National Forest. Since then she has been marinating in environmental issues; specifically how people conceive of and relate to the natural world as filtered through their cultures. Today, she is grateful to CELP and to her fellow law students for showing her how to use legal knowledge to serve environmental justice.

2019 Fellow

Ted Howard

A recently-minted attorney, Ted was with CELP on a one-year fellowship. He received a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.Phil. from the University of Oslo in Norway. Ted has previously worked with the Sierra Club, Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe in South Dakota, and was a founding editor of the interdisciplinary environmental journal Tvergastein. Ted grew up surrounded by the natural splendor of Puget Sound, in Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island.

During his fellowship Ted wrote a paper on the water supply effect of agricultural efficiency. He participated in WRIA 49 watershed planning  meetings, studied habitat mitigation scoring, did extensive public records research, including review of Ecology’s water right curtailments, helped draft comment letters, and assisted on some of CELP’s ongoing litigation. We are thankful for all of his work.

2018 Interns

Meredith Bro

Meredith Bro is a Washington native who has returned home for the summer to focus in on one of the key resources to our region: water. While earning her undergraduate degree from The University of Mississippi in political science and journalism, she spent time interning in Washington, D.C. at a bipartisan consulting firm where she gained unique insight into the realm of political advocacy. Following her undergraduate career, Meredith headed to the Big Easy to attend law school, which lead to her interest in natural resources law. This past year, she interned with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources where she developed a greater understanding of the interconnectivity between the roles of the state and federal governments, as well as private entities and their relationship with our environment. Expanding on what she learned while interning at the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Meredith became involved with the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law National Environmental Moot Court team where she placed as a finalist at the team’s competition in New York this year.

When not in school, Meredith enjoys hiking, kayaking, and riding her bike along the New Orleans levee. During her time at CELP, she hopes to gain a greater understanding of Washington State water law as a tool to craft rules that set a sustainable standard for water use in Washington state.

2017 Interns

Maggie Franquemont

Maggie Franquemont grew up along Colorado’s Front Range and let her love of the outdoors take her to Bozeman, MT where she earned her BS in Land Rehabilitation from Montana State University. Working for the national parks inspired her to return to school to pursue her JD from the University of Oregon where she is beginning her final year. Maggie hopes to focus on water law and encouraging interdisciplinary work so that she can fight our planet’s environmental problems on a united front across many interests. In addition to skiing and climbing Maggie also enjoys biking and kayaking across the Pacific Northwest. Her favorite dinosaur is the Stegosaurus.

2016 Interns

Adam Wicks-Arshack

Adam Wicks-Arshack is CELP’s summer legal intern. He is a pursuing a concurrent JD/PhD at the University of Idaho focusing on water resource management, Pacific lamprey and freshwater mussels. This summer Adam will be attending hearings, county water conservancy board meetings, and spending plenty of time paddling on Washington’s rivers and streams. At CELP, Adam is currently focused on scrutinizing inter-basin water right transfers and researching connections between water withdrawals and the Columbia River Treaty. Although this is Adam’s first experience working in an office he has made sure to block out time on the River. In June, Adam helped guide a dugout canoe into a historic tribal canoe journey and gathering at Kettle Falls. The following week Adam participated in a research trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, where he aided Shoshone-Bannock Tribe researchers in freshwater mussel surveys and documenting impacts to cultural resources. Asked why he wanted to work at CELP this summer, Adam responded, “It really feels good to represent the rivers, and flows rather than financial or property interests,” adding, “It’s just the right thing to do.”

2011 Interns

Eric Hill

Eric is a native of eastern Washington, having been born in Pullman, WA and graduating high school from Kettle Falls, WA. He graduated from Washington State University, studying Political Science, Philosophy, and Economics. While attending college Eric spent his summers working at the Boise Cascade log yard in Kettle Falls, WA. Eric has always had an interest in nature, saying that it probably started around the time his father began reading him the works of Patrick McManus and Aldo Leopold. Eric is most passionate about fighting climate change since it is his generation’s duty to solve the problem.

Eric will begin his second year at Gonzaga University School of Law this August. He is excited to work at CELP this summer and hopes to bring some positive change to the area. When he’s not working, Eric enjoys fly fishing, reading, and listening to Pink Floyd.

2010 Interns

Emilee Syrewicze

Vermont Law School,  Class of 2011

Emilee is a native of northern Michigan and graduated in 2008 with her BA in Political Science from Alma College. While at Alma she concentrated on international law and chemistry. During her time at Alma, she spent a spring term traveling around China studying and researching Chinese water policy development as well as a spring term in London England.

She is currently a third year student at Vermont law School in South Royalton Vermont concentrating on environmental law and corporate-nonprofit law.  She is excited to work at CELP this summer and is eager to explore the eastern Washington region. Emilee is also a classical pianist and loves reading (when she is not studying).

Amy Harrington

University of Oregon School of Law, Class of 2012

Even as a little girl, I knew that the natural world was important to me.  As a native Texan, I spent my childhood summers swimming and canoeing on the Guadalupe River.  On family trips to Texas beaches I got a firsthand look at the pollution in the gulf’s oceans, and resolved to do something to change the way that we treat our environment.  With this goal in mind, I studied English and Environmental Studies at Wellesley College.  There, I led a campus-wide greenhouse gas inventory and conducted a study on water pollution in Woburn, Massachusetts.  During my time there I also worked with nonprofit organizations that focused on endangered species like the polar bear, delta smelt, and Hawaiian monk seal.

This fall I will begin my second year at the University of Oregon School of Law, where I am pursuing a certificate of completion in Environmental Law and Natural Resources.  I spend my free time with old books, kung fu movies, and sometimes-failed attempts at cooking.  I like to relax by rafting on Oregon’s gorgeous rivers and hiking through her wilderness.  As I hope to be an environmental lawyer someday, I’m delighted to share my time, my skill, and my energy with CELP.

2009 Interns

Sean Michael Hackett

Gonzaga School of Law, Class of 2011

Growing up in the arid Southwest (Alamosa, CO) helped me to garner a profound respect for our fragile and finite water supply.  I was fortunate enough to have a family that instilled a conservation ethic within me at a very young age. Because of this, I studied Political Science and Environmental Policy at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO and focused my undergraduate research on the negative environmental impacts of energy exploration and extraction on tribal lands throughout the Southwest.

2008 Interns

Arielle Anderson

My background consists of working with social justice organizations ranging from migrant Farmworker advocacy to bridging the technology gap in low-income communities.  It’s difficult, if not impossible, to stratify social, economic and environmental justice, and I have found they all interconnect.  CELP is the first Environmental non-profit that I have worked for directly and I anticipate coming away with a solid understanding of Washington water law.  I hope to better understand how modern environmental laws and common law facilitate the management and protection of resources such as water, while simultaneously attempting to protect the integrity of unique and complex ecosystems.

I attend John F. Kennedy School of Law in Berkeley, CA., and received my Bachelor of Science in Political Science at Boise State University.  Having grown up in both southern Idaho and eastern Washington, my appreciation for the outdoors is an innate characteristic, as is the respect associated with being a steward of the earth.  My hope is to work in Spokane as a water law attorney and work with Indigenous Tribes in the Southwest and Mexico on water related issues.

Jeff Bornholdt

Gonzaga University School of Law, Class 2009

My experience with the outdoors started when I was “knee-high” to my Dad at the age of 6 years old.  By following the steps of generations of my family I learned to respect and protect our lands and waters for everyone to enjoy.    As I grew older and entered High School, I joined Ducks Unlimited, a non-profit organization known for being a world leader in Wildlife and Wetlands Conservation.  I have become deeply and passionately involved in this organization, including banding and counting waterfowl, organizing fundraisers, cleanup efforts of local waterways and supporting our vanishing wetlands each year.

When I am not reading for class, I enjoy anything that has to do with the outdoors, from hunting and fishing, to camping, hiking and boating. I also find it very challenging to serve and actively be involved with the public and in their interests; groups of individuals coming together for an entire cause (Manito Duck Pond, opposing the new dam on the Lower Crab Creek, being active in ELC on the GU campus).  Actually, through my involvement with the ELC organization, I became aware of the CELP organization; and in the Spring of 2008 I was awarded the GPILP grant.  I consider myself extremely lucky to have received this award.

I will have received both my B.A. and J.D. Degrees from Gonzaga University in the Spring of 09.  After graduation from law school I plan on practicing Water Law in the Northwest.

Meriel Darzen

University of Washington, JD/MS, Class of 2010

Originally from outside of Boston, I did my undergraduate work at Wesleyan University where I studied history and environmental studies, and interned for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. After college, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, where I worked on agroforestry, environmental education, and rural sanitation projects. Currently, I am a graduate student at the University of Washington, where I split time between the Law school and the Forestry School as I am working on towards a joint JD/MS. Recent professional interests include salmon protection, endangered species law, wetland management, and watershed planning and GIS mapping. In my free time I enjoy running with my dog, biking, snowshoeing, exploring the Cascades, and coaching Garfield high school lacrosse.

Orion Inskip

Seattle University  School of Law, Class of 2008

I was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up in Moab, Utah.  My parents moved to Moab because they fell in love with the Colorado River, a love I quickly grew to share.  My fondest childhood memories are all on the rivers of the Colorado Plateau.  I enjoy whitewater kayaking, cycling, climbing, and back country camping.

I joined the military soon after High School, originally to get money for college, but eventually made it a career.  After 18 years the military has given me many great opportunities including a commission as an officer and a position as a pilot.

I am currently attending Seattle University, School of Law, and I plan to become a military attorney and complete my 20 years of service.  I then want to return to Utah and work as an environmental law attorney.

Andrew Krawczyk

Seattle University School of Law, Class of 2010

I grew up in Oregon’s beautiful Yamhill Valley (Pinot Noir country) and spent many years hiking with my father and the boy scouts in the Cascade and Coastal forests of Oregon. I then went to Willamette University for a Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science and a minor in Economics. After graduating from Willamette, I worked for a year in alternative transportation planning for the city of Salem, OR, and constituent issues in the Oregon Legislature. This brought me to Washington, DC to work as an environmental analyst for ERG, an environmental communications contractor.  As a contractor, I worked with transportation, solid waste, and water policy issues, and specifically U.S. EPA voluntary partnership programs, such as: Best Workplaces for Commuters, WaterSense, Labs21, and WasteWise. While working in DC, I received my Master’s degree in Environmental Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University.

I am happy to return to the Northwest to study and work with environmental and water law. I recognize the important role of environmental advocacy organizations, like CELP, play in the formation of sound environmental policy.

Anne Powell

Seattle University School of Law, Class of 2010

I just completed my first year of law school at Seattle University and plan to focus on public interest environmental law. In addition to water law, I am interested in pollution prevention and environmental justice. Prior to law school, I received a Master of Environmental Studies from The Evergreen State College and then worked for almost five years at a community health-related non-profit.

I grew up in Missouri and received a BA in International Studies from the University of Missouri, which involved tropical ecology studies in Costa Rica. I credit my love of the outdoors and interest in natural resource protection to my family’s many hiking, water-skiing, and canoeing trips and to my dad, a geologist and nature enthusiast.

2007 Interns

Our 2007 interns were from Seattle and Spokane:

  • Kara Kathleen Dunn, University of Washington Law School
  • Taylor Fielding, Gonzaga Law School
  • Corey Rogers, University of Washington Law School
  • Sean Wells, Gonzaga Law School
  • Kevin Zeck, Gonzaga Law School

Taylor Fielding

Originally from Ogden, Utah, I spent much of my childhood at Fort Buenaventura, a trading post established along the Weber River by Miles Goodyear in 1845. My dad was a state park ranger for 26 years, and I caught the bug, working as a seasonal for Utah State Parks for 6 summers. My interests also led me to stints as a police dispatcher, public safety officer and paginator for a daily newspaper. Some of the highlights from my resume include:

  • BS, Anthropology and Criminal Justice, Weber State University, 2000
  • Member, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
  • Awards from The Signpost annual awards, the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Media Association and the Society of Professional Journalists
  • WSU Anthropology Department Outstanding Archaeology Graduate
  • MS, Anthropology, Idaho State University, 2004
  • Thesis: Archaeological Evidence of Early Firearms in the Snake River Plain and Surrounding Areas.
  • Idaho State University Public Safety Student Officer of the Year, 2004
  • JD Candidate, Gonzaga University, 2008

Corey Rogers

I recently completed my first year of study at the University of Washington School of Law.  Before coming to law school, I attended the University of Mississippi and received bachelor’s degrees in biology and international studies.  As an undergraduate, I gained research experience in restoration and fire ecology, participating in field experiments in a variety of ecosystems in the southeastern United States.  I also spent time in Central America studying tropical ecology and researching sustainable tourism development models.  I plan to focus my legal studies on environmental, land use, and water law.  I am excited to work with CELP this summer to address water issues facing people and ecosystems throughout the state.

Kara Kathleen Dunn

Having grown up hiking, skiing, and riding my horse in the Seattle area, I have always had a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of Washington state.  During my undergraduate years at the University of Washington I polished my research and writing skills as an English major.  I am now attending the University of Washington’s School of Law to practice applying these skills to the field of environmental law.  Specific areas of interest include natural resources, Indian law, land planning, and water law.

Sean Wells

Sean was born and received his high school education in San Diego, California. Sean’s undergraduate studies began at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. He completed a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration at Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Upon completion of undergraduate studies, Sean became a member of Whole Foods Market community. During his time working at Whole Foods, Sean was active in various community service oriented projects focusing on education and sustainability. Through these efforts, Sean became aware of the need for legal professionals who share a passion for sustainable agriculture and the organic food movement. Spurred by the desire to aid the sustainable agriculture movement, Sean returned to school and now has completed his first year at Gonzaga University School of Law.

Kevin Zeck

Kevin Zeck grew up in Spokane, WA and now attends Gonzaga University Law School.  While Kevin has appreciated the outdoors since he was little, in recent years Kevin has become concerned that American society is over-consuming precious natural resources. His recent time in Santa Fe, NM spurred him to become involved in environmental groups with the hope that his talents, mainly in the areas of economics and finance, may help shift the environmental policies of not only governmental organizations, but also individual citizens.

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