Sarah Reiter – Professor, Head of Delegation
Professor Reiter is experienced in managing large teams and negotiating complex natural resource policy issues. Professor Reiter’s work spans research on the ocean’s seafloor to its uppermost polar region, and has played a role in the negotiation of several environmental agreements. A former meteorologist, Professor Reiter was a commissioned United States Air Force Officer, managing an operational floor of scientists responsible for providing weather support to military bases west of the Mississippi. Her ocean law and policy experience at NOAA, Stanford University’s Center for Ocean Solutions, and Monterey Bay Aquarium contribute to her perspective on teaching students and writing about ocean conservation and climate issues. She continues to collaborate with colleagues on ocean conservation and climate initiatives through her Honorary Research Associate position at the University of Oxford, and through cross-disciplinary scholarship, which can be found in journals such as Science and Stanford Environmental Law Journal.
Andrea Salazar – Teaching Assistant
Andrea Y. Salazar is pursuing a Juris Doctor and Master of Energy Regulation and Law at Vermont Law School. She holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from New Mexico State University. Andrea studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea as a Gilman International Scholar. Most recently, she was a legal intern at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Chairman Glick. Andrea is also the Environmental Justice Managing Editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law. Last year, Andrea was part of the inaugural class of the Climate Justice Practicum at Vermont Law School & Yale Center on Climate Change and Health Clinic. After graduation, Andrea hopes to continue engaging with Environmental & Climate Justice law and policy as it overlaps with the field of energy law. She hopes to become a law professor.
Heidi Johnson – Student Delegate
Heidi is a second-year law student at VLS focusing on International Environmental Law. She received her B.A. in Political Science and Political Theory from the University of California, San Diego. Her passion for protecting the environment developed during undergrad when she joined Circle K International, an organization promoting community service, leadership, and fellowship. After graduating, she joined I Love A Clean San Diego, an environmental nonprofit organization, and removed litter from parks, beaches, and mountain areas throughout San Diego. Currently, as an Environmental Law Society member, Heidi plans creative ways to promote environmental issue awareness in Vermont. Heidi also serves as an Academic Success Mentor, the Women’s Law Society Treasurer, and as a JURIST international legal news writer, editor, researcher, and technical specialist. Outside of her studies, Heidi enjoys reading, hiking, and rooting for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. Heidi hopes to pursue a career in International Climate Change and Ocean Law.
Isabella Smith – Student Delegate
Isabella is a third year accelerated J.D. student at Vermont Law School. She received her B.S. in environmental studies from the University of Vermont, as part of the 3+2 program to complete her B.S. and J.D. in 5 years. She is from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Isabella is deeply interested in the ocean-climate nexus, climate refugees, fisheries management, and areas beyond national jurisdiction. During her undergraduate career, Isabella worked in Senator Sanders’ Burlington office, as well as in the Vermont statehouse on water quality issues affecting Lake Champlain. She also worked on a project about the effects of IUU and overfishing off of the Northwestern coast of Africa. At VLS, Isabella works on the Town Relations Committee as part of her interest in community-based change. Isabella discovered interests in international governance after traveling across India, and from a VLS class called “Ocean and Coastal Law and Policy.” She is passionate about interdisciplinarity and systems thinking, and hopes to pursue a career in ocean-climate law and policy.
Mariah Harrod – Student Delegate
Mariah is from Georgetown, Kentucky, earning a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Philosophy from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. At Vermont Law School, Mariah has served as a 1L Senator on the Student Bar Association, a 1L representative for the Outdoor Club, the Event Coordinator of the Environmental Law Society, a Staff Editor and now Symposium Editor on Vermont Law Review, an Academic Success Program Mentor, and a Teacher’s Assistant for Torts, Legal Writing II, and Evidence. After graduation, Mariah plans to work in the nonprofit sector doing environmental advocacy and policy work.
Carlynne Toomey – Student Delegate 
Carlynne is a second-year law student at VLS focusing on International Environmental Law. She received her MELP (with a focus on climate change) from VLS in 2015 and received her Bachelor of Science from Oregon State University in Natural Resources Management with a concentration in Wildlife Ecology. She has always had a keen interest in The Endangered Species Act and specifically been an advocate for the red wolf and other endangered apex predators. At VLS, she is involved in the Environmental Law Society, the Food and Agriculture Law Society, the Animal Law Society, and the Student Bar Association. She is the newly elected Justice of Phi Alpha Delta and a VLS Ambassador. She spent her 1L summer working with the Environmental Advocacy Clinic at VLS and is excited to further her education on the international front this year. Her interests outside of school include her dogs, jewelry making, reading, video gaming, not quite hiking – but walking in nature, studying languages (French/Spanish), and learning new things. She loves horses, giant breed dogs, the mountains, oceans, and wild places.
Mackenzie Bindas – Student Delegate
Mackenzie is a second-year law student at VLS focusing on fishery and maritime law. She received her BA in Environmental Sustainability and a minor in Political Science from Wilson College. She also received her Master’s in Environmental Law and Policy from VLS. Mackenzie’s passion for international environmental law began as a deckhand on charter boats in Alaska, where she experienced the effects of commercial fisheries on coastal communities and the marine ecosystem. This summer, she is interning for a maritime law firm, Mainstay Law LLC, focusing on Defense Base Act claims for civilians working on military installments overseas. Outside of her studies, Mackenzie enjoys swimming, hiking, and spending time with family and friends. She is also a Student Ambassador, the Public Relations Representative for Women’s Law Society, and Staff Editor for Vermont Environmental Law Journal. After graduation, she intends to use her degree to promote sustainable fisheries for both Alaskan charter and commercial industries.
Kristina O’Keefe – Student Delegate
My name is Kristina O’Keefe and I am currently a 2L at Vermont Law School where I am pursuing a JD degree in international environmental law. I was born and raised in Tampa, FL and graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy. I have always been drawn to the environment, but didn’t decide to pursue it as a career until I took a week long trip to Haiti and saw first hand the detrimental impacts that numerous environmental disasters had on the developing nation. Since attending VLS I have become increasingly interested in the environmental justice aspect of environmental law and will be participating in the Climate Justice Practicum this fall and was elected treasurer of the Environmental Justice law society this year. I am an incoming Cochair for the Environmental Law Society and a staff editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law. I recently completed a legal internship for the EPA’s Region 2 Office. I aim to use my growing expertise to work in the field of international environmental policy with a specific focus on climate change and climate justice.
Elizabeth Yoseph – Student Delegate
Elizabeth is a second-year joint degree student pursuing a JD at Vermont Law School and Master’s Degree in Climate Science and Policy at Bard College. In 2007, she received her B.S. in Marine Biology, with a minor in Chemistry, from the University of New England. Elizabeth’s undergraduate research focused on marine mammal ecophysiology and ocean biogeochemical responses to climate variability. Her graduate research included climatology in East Africa, agricultural vulnerabilities to climate change, and global adaptive fisheries management. Since June 2020, Elizabeth has been working as a research intern for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), using high-resolution spectroscopy and geospatial analysis to reveal drivers of permafrost-carbon feedbacks in the Arctic tundra. Elizabeth’s interest in international climate and ocean law and policy developed during her 13-year career as a senior environmental professional. Elizabeth worked within the federal government and private sector advancing regulatory compliance and Earth science and policy objectives. Most recently, she served as a liaison between NASA and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy subcommittees and international organizations governing commitments on climate, ocean, weather, and scientific computing priorities. She also advised on the management of NASA’s High-End Computing program. Her passion for advocacy led her to pursue a joint JD/Master’s program to develop an interdisciplinary expertise so that she can more effectively promote measures that safeguard ocean health and climate justice. Elizabeth is ultimately interested in leveraging the intersectionality of science, law, and policy to drive multilateral negotiations on global governance frameworks that better integrate the ocean-climate nexus.
Caroline Fullam – Student Delegate
Caroline is an LLM student at Vermont Law School focusing on International and Environmental Law. She was a Program of Liberal Studies major at the University of Notre Dame before going on to pursue her JD at Brooklyn Law School. While getting her JD, Caroline was on the Brooklyn Journal of International Law. She also spent a semester in Cork, Ireland, where she studied environmental issues in Ireland and the European Union. Caroline worked for a year in New York as an environmental litigator on groundwater contamination issues. She then decided to pursue her LLM at Vermont to return to her interest in environmental matters at the international level. She is currently in the Transnational Environmental Practicum at Vermont Law School, working on environmental projects with partners from Asian countries. After graduation, she intends to pursue work in the international environmental field on global and transnational issues. In her free time, Caroline enjoys reading novels, chatting with friends, and running.
Cameron Briggs Ramos – Student Delegate
Cameron Briggs Ramos is pursuing a J.D. at Vermont Law School. She received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Florida in 2019. Her interest in International Environmental Justice and Climate Change developed from her work as Community Outreach Coordinator for a recycling and composting company in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After working on community projects that created accessible recycling and composting systems on the island, Cameron decided to go to law school. At Vermont Law School Cameron is a staff editor for the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law and is involved with several student organizations on campus. After graduation, Cameron hopes to work on community-led food sovereignty projects and policy on an international scale. Cameron also dreams of moving back home to Puerto Rico and opening a farm-to-table plant-based restaurant. Some of her favorite past times are skateboarding, cooking, gardening, walking on the beach, and mixing music.
Leslie Terrones – Student Delegate
Leslie is an LLM in Environmental Law Student at Vermont Law School, focusing on International Environmental Law and Environmental Justice. She is from Peru and graduated as a lawyer in Esan University (Peru). She has more than four years of experience in matters mostly related to environmental impact assessment and control in various public and private institutions in Peru, like the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Industry and the Environmental Assessment and Control Agency, and National Fisheries Health Agency. She has also spent a semester in France, studying commercial and international law. She is the founder of the academic organization NormAmbiental and member of the Peruvian Society of Law (SPD) and is currently in the Climate Justice Practicum at Vermont Law School. After graduation, she intends to work in the international environmental field, as a part of an international environmental organization or NGO.
