First Diehl Environmental Law Fellows Announced
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Lewis & Clark Law School’s Environmental, Natural Resources, and Energy Law Program announced the first four recipients for Diehl Fellowships. Three current students and one recent graduate were selected from a pool of applicants in February. The 2020 Diehl Environmental Law Fellows are Audrey Leonard ’20, Jesse Caldwell ’20, Teryn Yazdani ’20, and Dani Replogle ’19. Each Fellow will receive a $40,000 stipend for their work in public interest environmental law.
Lewis & Clark Law School is the recipient of a bequest from John E. Diehl who was an active environmentalist in Washington. The Diehl bequest supports a fellowship program for Lewis & Clark Law School graduates who are planning to work in public interest environmental law. The bequest specified a preference for graduates who are “dedicated to resource conservation, wilderness and wildlife habitat and preservation, or human population stabilization.” This year’s Diehl Fellows embody these principles and have shown their dedication to public interest environmental law.
Leonard is originally from rural Indiana where her interest in environmental law came from growing up on her family’s farm and her passion for changing our food system. During her time at Lewis & Clark, Leonard was the Editor-in-Chief for Environmental Law, a 2019 summer clerk for Earthrise Law Center, and the student director for the Northwest Environmental Defense Center. Upon graduating from Lewis & Clark in May, with the help of funds from the Diehl Fellowship, Leonard plans to pursue a fellowship with the Center for Food Safety, a nonprofit in Portland with a mission to empower people, support farmers, and protect the environment from harmful industrial agriculture. “A career in this field is the perfect opportunity to combine my creative and technical skills to directly challenge actions that fail to adequately protect the environment,” stated Leonard.
Caldwell is originally from South Florida where her passion for environmental law stemmed from growing up beside the ocean and seeing the effects of pollution and human interaction in oceanic ecosystems. “For as long as I can remember, a passion for the environment has played a central role in my life,” stated Caldwell. She combines her undergraduate degree in sociology with biodiversity and conservation to be able to view environmental issues through a unique lens, combining ecological principles with sociological theories that impact various perspectives on a matter. During her time at Lewis & Clark, Caldwell was a clinic student and summer law clerk at Earthrise and is currently interning for Oceana, a nonprofit ocean advocacy organization in Portland. Upon graduating Caldwell plans to work for the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts.
Yazdani is originally from Jackson, Mississippi, where her passion for environmental law grew from seeing the impacts of climate change and increasingly harmful natural disasters affect the Gulf Coast. She entered Lewis & Clark Law School in the fall of 2017 and immediately became an active volunteer for the Northwest Environmental Defense Center. Yazdani also externed for the Crag Law Center, was a clinic participant at Earthrise Law Center, and was the Form & Style Editor for Animal Law Review. Yazdani plans to use her Diehl Fellowship to pursue her dream of working as a nonprofit environmental attorney. “My passion for public interest environmental work is what inspired my decision to attend law school and I am excited for my future in this field,” stated Yazdani.
Replogle graduated from Duke University in 2013 and was a science teacher for three years before pursuing a legal education at Lewis & Clark Law School. She is currently a legal fellow for Earthrise Law Center, Lewis & Clark’s environmental clinic. Replogle plans to continue her work to protect public lands, promote regenerative agriculture and fight for climate justice by continuing her fellowship at Earthrise for another year thanks to the Diehl Fellowship. “I found a sense of purpose and belonging in working toward a future where all people still have the opportunity to commune with the wild’s most elusive citizens in the world’s most beautiful places,” stated Replogle.
