Residents of the West, the nation, and the world live in challenging times in terms of protecting our natural resources. Rivers, airsheds, old-growth forests, red-rock landscapes, and wild lands face new and daunting risks. Fires, glacier loss, drought, and violent storms serve as calls to action to ensure a sustainable, just, and equitable future for all. In Colorado and beyond, there is a rising demand for thoughtful policy initiatives at all levels of government. At the Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment (GWC), we see an opportunity to help address this unmet need while training the next generation of outstanding leaders in natural resources, energy, and water law.
After examining how we could best leverage the strengths of the GWC to meet this urgent demand, we are launching the GWC Fellows Program. This unique and multidisciplinary training program will be open to recent law graduates, former judicial clerks, and lawyers early in their careers. Four fellows chosen through a national competitive search will conduct reform-oriented research on the most pressing issues in their fields and interact with public- and private-sector leaders to inform policymaking. Each fellow will serve a two-year commitment and specialize in a certain area (e.g., water, energy, or natural resources). Fellows will be mentored by a faculty member who will oversee their substantive work. Further, they will receive formal training in leadership and communication skills. Colorado Law and the GWC are uniquely situated to recruit excellent and diverse candidates, assist them in producing impactful work, and accelerate their careers upon completion.
The GWC is pleased to announce it has received a pivotal matching grant of $420,000 through the generosity of David Bonderman, a lawyer, businessman, and significant supporter of conservation initiatives. We are actively seeking to match this gift, which will allow us to initiate the program for four years. Our ultimate goal is to obtain, over time, sufficient funding to endow a permanent program of four fellows serving two-year commitments.
The work
The GWC Fellows Program will provide a matchless educational experience in which fellows will produce innovative work that advocates for the public good in natural resources law. Fellows will engage at every level—federal, state, tribal, county, city, and international. They will operate a "rapid response" team that will quickly address significant breaking events, sharing their findings with the public through a blog and social media. Fellows will produce white papers, often building upon rapid-response subjects. They will also identify administrative and legislative proposals where formal comments would be productive and generate amicus briefs for concerned organizations. Fellows will learn how government agencies, policymakers, related NGOs, and businesses interact—and how to create change.
“This program will launch a new kind of postgraduate fellowship. Over two years, these diverse, superbly qualified fellows will do research, develop deep expertise, and then take it out to federal and state legislatures and agencies to help reform existing law in critical natural resources areas. This combination of scholarship and real-world experience will help build the next generation of environmental stewards and leaders to the great benefit of all communities and the land, water, and air.”
Charles Wilkinson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Get involved
There is a compelling need for this fellows program, and to launch it, we need your support. Once operational, we are confident the program will be recognized as worthy of a full endowment, to make this intensive training program permanent. We invite you to become a founding member of the GWC Fellows Program alongside David Bonderman. To learn more, please contact Shaun LaBarre at shaun.labarre@colorado.edu.