Kate Konschnik, a lecturer on law and the founding director of Harvard Law School’s Environmental Policy Initiative (EPI), has been named the executive director of the Environmental Law Program (ELP).
In that new role, she will assume responsibility for all non-clinical aspects of the Environmental Law Program, building the research program, engaging with stakeholders in the policy community, and producing timely publications on environmental law and energy law. Kate will work closely with the Law School’s environmental faculty to maximize the impact of the Program’s scholarly research.
Jody Freeman, the Archibald Cox Professor of Environmental Law at Harvard Law School, said, “I am delighted that Kate has accepted this new role. She is a winning combination–skillful lawyer, sharp policy analyst, and creative strategist. As executive director, she will help our program fulfill its greatest ambitions.”
Under Kate’s direction, EPI attorneys and students have presented on cutting-edge energy and environmental policy questions to leading state and national organizations, including the National Research Council, the National Governors’ Association, the federal EPA, Groundwater Protection Council, the Midwestern Power Sector Collaborative, and the United States Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board.
“The outcome of the 2016 presidential election presents the environmental community at HLS with new challenges and opportunities,” said Konschnik. “I look forward to leading the Environmental Law Program and ensuring that our faculty, staff and students will continue to shape environmental protection strategies and contribute meaningfully to public policy debates.”
Prior to joining Harvard Law School, Konschnik was chief environmental counsel to U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and directed his staff on the Oversight Subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. From 2002 to 2009, she also served as an environmental enforcement trial attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Kate holds a B.A. in political science from Tufts University and a J.D. cum laude from UC Hastings College of the Law.