Melissa Powers is an Associate Professor of Law at Lewis & Clark Law School.  She teaches energy law, climate change law, the Clean Air Act, torts, and administrative law. Her research interests include energy law (with a specific focus on laws designed to promote renewable energy), domestic policies aimed at mitigating climate change, and U.S. pollution control laws. She is also interested in comparative law study in each of these areas.

Melissa is a Governing Board member of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law, representing the North American and Caribbean region.  She was the co-chair of the Research Committee of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law and is currently the ex-officio representative from the Governing Board serving on the Research Committee.  Melissa has also taught as a visiting professor at several schools, including the University of Trento, Italy, in 2008, 2011 and 2012, the University of Navarra, Spain, in 2011, and the University of Maine School of Law in 2007.

Melissa began her legal career as an attorney at public interest environmental law firms doing pollution control litigation. From 2003-2008, Melissa was a Clinical Professor at the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC), the environmental law clinic at Lewis & Clark.

Elizabeth Kirk is a Reader in Law at the University of Dundee. Prior to joining the Dundee University she qualified as a solicitor in Scotland and worked as a Research Associate at the University of British Columbia.

Elizabeth is co-editor of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law's journal - "The eJournal".  She also sits on the Managing Board of the European Environmental Law Forum.

Elizabeth is Director of the Law PhD programme at the University of Dundee and supervises several PhD students working across areas including International Law of the Sea, International Environmental Law, International Law, Public and Stakeholder Engagement in Environmental Regulation.  She also teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.  Her courses cover International Law, International Law of Marine Resources, Ecosystems and International Law, and International Law and Security.

Elizabeth's research focuses on adaptability within legal regimes, in particular the ability of regimes to respond to changing circumstances, scientific understanding or actors. Her work, which has been supported by a number of research grants from various funding bodies in the UK and Europe spans both the international law of marine governance (and marine resources) and domestic environmental law.  It demonstrates that traditional theoretical distinctions between national and international law are irrelevant in explaining the production of normativity (that is, the processes by which individuals come to regard rules as binding). Instead the key to normativity (and hence compliance) lies in the role played by a variety of actors in shaping the development of legal norms, through formal participation in legislative decision-making, direct and indirect lobbying, the linking of disparate legal regimes and the creation of new cultural norms, which influence the development of legal norms. 

Elizabeth is also experienced in delivering advice to intergovernmental, non-governmental and governmental bodies, drawing upon her academic expertise in doing so. 

  1. Professor Amber Prasad Pant