Project Team

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW INSTITUTE:

Cynthia R. Harris, Staff Attorney; Director of Tribal Programs; Deputy Director of the Center for State, Tribal, and Local Environmental Programs.

Cynthia joined ELI’s Research & Policy team as a staff attorney in November 2016. Cynthia’s background prior to ELI includes several years working in San Diego local government, where she advised on water, wastewater, and infrastructure policy—spearheading the City Council’s successful development of California’s toughest requirement mandating water submetering as a proven water conservation feature in multi-family developments—and served as community liaison to some of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods. Cynthia holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she clerked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of General Counsel, engaged in clinical studies with the Natural Resources Defense Council, and served on the NYU Law Review. She received her B.A. in Communication from the University of California, San Diego, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Greta Swanson, Visting Attorney.

[BIO]

Rebecca Ramirez, Public Interest Law Fellow. 

Rebecca joined ELI as the Public Interest and Environmental Law Fellow in September 2021. Prior to joining ELI, Rebecca held law clerk and externship positions with the General Counsel of the Oceans and Coasts Section at NOAA, Earthjustice, and the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Miami School of Law. She received her J.D. with a concentration in Environmental Law from the University of Miami School of law, graduating cum laude. At Miami Law, Rebecca was an Associate Editor for the University of Miami Inter-American Law Review and a Teaching Assistant for Professor Daniel Suman’s Coastal Law and Policy course. She received her M.P.S. in Marine Ecosystems and Society from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, earning an Award of Academic Merit. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin.

Margaret Badding, Research Associate.

Margaret joined the Environmental Law Institute as a Research Associate in August 2021. Margaret is currently assisting with ELI’s Food Waste Initiative and ELI’s China Program, which seeks to improve environmental policy and regulation in China. Before joining ELI as a Research Associate, Margaret researched politics surrounding renewable energy and transmission construction in New York state as well as analyzed GHG inventory reports and climate change policies of major global cities. Margaret grew up in upstate New York and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Philosophy Politics & Economics (PPE) and Psychology, with a minor in Environmental Studies.

Greta Swanson, Visting Attorney.

[BIO]

Environmental Law Institute Research & Publications Interns:

Nina Jeffries is a senior studying Environmental Science and Policy with a concentration in economics at the University of Maryland, College Park. On campus, she is the Director of Sustainability for the Student Government Association and the Secretary of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences. Nina has interned at Our Children's Trust, the Maryland Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Nina plans to attend law school to study some mix of environmental, agricultural, energy, and natural resources law.

Lily Byrne is a senior at the University of Maryland majoring in Economics and Arabic and minoring in Sustainability Studies. Lily has been assisting with several projects during her tenure at ELI, including historical research into the relationship between the state of California and Native American Tribes, the BRIGHT Guide, and working on social media for ELI’s Innovation Lab. Following graduation in the spring, Lily plans to take a gap year before attending law school and concentrate on energy and environmental policy.

Annalisse Eclipse is a senior at Cornell University majoring in Environment & Sustainability, with a concentration in Policy & Governance and a minor in Climate Change. Annalisse grew up in southern California and is passionate about the intersection of environmental justice and policy. As part of the Cornell in Washington Program, Annalisse worked as a Research & Publications Intern at ELI in Fall 2021. During her time at ELI, Annalisse assisted the RWJF Tribe-State consultation project with preliminary research and organizing.