Sparsh Khandeshi is EIP’s Refinery Law Fellow.  Prior to joining EIP, he interned for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Santa Monica and for Judge William Hoeveler of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  A graduate of Georgetown Law, Mr. Khandeshi was an editor of the Georgetown International Environmental Law Review and President of the Environmental Law Society.  He graduated from Yale College with a BA in Environmental Studies in 2004 and a JD from Georgetown Law in 2009.

Tarah Heinzen is EIP’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Law Fellow. She graduated cum laude with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2009.  While at Lewis & Clark, Tarah worked as a legal intern for EIP and a student clinician with the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center, was inducted into the Cornelius Honor Society, and was on a winning National Environmental Moot Court Competition team.   She graduated cum laude from Macalester College in 2003, with a BA in Environmental Studies and Geology.

Abel Russ joined the Environmental Integrity Project in 2010 after graduating magna cum laude from Vermont Law School. While at VLS Abel was an editor of the Vermont Journal of Environmental Law and a clinician with the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic. Before law school he worked in the field of human health risk assessment, first as a research associate for the George Perkins Marsh Institute in Worcester, MA, and then as a toxicologist for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He has also put in time growing food at North Creek Farm in Phippsburg, Maine. Abel graduated summa cum laude from Clark University in 1999 and received a Master’s degree in Environmental Science & Policy from Clark in 2000.

Leah Kelly joined EIP in 2011. Prior to joining EIP, she spent three years working at a small public interest oriented law firm in upstate New York, focusing on land use and environmental matters. Leah graduated from Boston College Law School in 2007 with a Certificate in Land Use and Environmental Law. During law school, Leah worked as an intern with Alternatives For Community and Environment, as a summer law clerk with the Southern Environmental Law Center, and as a student attorney with the Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau. She has also performed volunteer legal work for the Urban Ecology Institute and the Conservation Law Foundation. Leah graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 2002 with a B.A. in English.

Gabriel Clark-Leach joined EIP as a Fellowship Attorney in 2010 after completing two post-graduate public interest clerkships with EIP.  Prior to joining EIP, he was a law clerk at the Caddo Lake Institute, and Lowerre, Frederick, Perales, Allmon & Rockwell.  Gabriel graduated from the University of Texas School of Law with honors where he was a member of the Texas Environmental Law Journal.  He also graduated with a MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities from SUNY, Buffalo.

Erin Fonken, an attorney in the Environmental Integrity Project’s Texas office, utilizes state and federal law to target coal-fired power plants in Texas and nationwide.  Prior to joining EIP, Erin practiced environmental law as an associate at Baker Botts L.L.P.   Erin graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law in 2008.  During law school, Erin served on the editorial board of the Texas Environmental Law Journal and was also elected to the Order of the Coif.  She earned a BS in Mathematics with honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003

Sam joined EIP in March of 2010 to assist with outreach for the Coal Combustion Initiative.  Sam is a 15 year veteran of ground level grassroots organizing beginning with the Hoosier Environmental Council’s successful door-to-door canvass campaign that stopped the US Forest Service’s plan to clearcut 80% of the Hoosier National Forest. Sam soon became a leader developing and training canvassers for subsequent campaigns including Waste Management Planning, Coal Ash Disposal, Water Quality Standards, CAFO Regulation, Destructive New-Terrain Interstate Highway Development and more.  As part of training canvassers, Sam became a tireless researcher and provided significant input for the expansion of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore – our nation’s most species diverse (per acre) national park.  Sam has a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University and a minor in Business Administration from Marian University in Indianapolis, IN.

Michael Miller joined the Environmental Integrity Project in 2010. Prior to joining EIP, he worked with Darrell Castle and Associates in Memphis, TN and with The Navigators at Cornell University and New York University. Michael graduated with a BFA from NYU in 2004 and is currently attending law school at American University.

LaToya Archibald, Program Assistant

LaToya has a B.S. in Biology from Howard University, has interned with the Department of Energy and was an Environmental Biology Scholar and Research Associate funded by the National Science Foundation.  Most recently, she taught Biology and Environmental Science at the Maya Angelou Academy, located at New Beginnings Youth Development Center, Washington D.C.’s secure facility for incarcerated youth.  She is interested in environmental justice issues and looks forward to building on her interest in environmental policy while working here at EIP

Marcie Alexander graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 with a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in English. At UT, she worked as a research assistant in a salamander lab, was awarded two Undergraduate Research Fellowships to fund her independent grassland ecology study, and received various writing awards. She worked as a marketing writer and traveled in China, Europe, and Central America before joining the Texas office of EIP in 2011.

R. John Dawes joined the Environmental Integrity Project in 2009 after graduating from Juniata College with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy and Economics.  John has contributed to multiple EIP reports such as In Harm’s Way and Getting Warmer and recently begun work in geo spatial consulting around Chesapeake Bay issues .   At Juniata, John was an active member and co-founder of the college’s outing club and taught intermediate rock climbing and whitewater kayaking for Mercersburg Academy.

Robbie joined the Environmental Integrity Project in 2010 after graduating with honors from the University of California, Berkeley where he studied Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and co-founded the Journal of Ethics at Berkeley.  In 2009, Robbie interned for the Natural Resources Defense Council, working on cap-and-trade and transportation legislation.  He looks forward to continuing his understanding of environmental issues and policies while working at EIP.