Julie Kaplan joined the Environmental Integrity Project as Senior Counsel for Litigation in 2012, after practicing environmental law at Hunsucker Goodstein & Nelson and the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice.    Julie’s experience spans environmental enforcement litigation under multiple environmental statutes, as well as policy work related to environmental enforcement.  While at the Department of Justice, Julie was accorded awards from the Department  as well as the United States Environmental Protection Agency for her significant work. Julie received her law degree from Yale Law School in 1986, where she was a Senior Editor of the Yale Law Journal.  She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in history. 

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.

Adam Kron joined the Environmental Integrity Project in 2011.  Before joining EIP, Adam worked as a staff attorney at Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C., where his work focused on freshwater aquatic species, climate change, and energy development.  Prior to that, Adam worked on a variety of water quality issues in Georgia and Alabama with the Southern Environmental Law Center’s Atlanta office, including stormwater permitting, coal mining, and coal-fired power plants.  Adam earned his B.A. with distinction in Biology from the University of Virginia in 2001.  He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2006, where he served as managing editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review and was a recipient of the school’s Maria & Robert A. Skirnick Public Interest Fellowship.

Alayne Gobeille joined EIP in 2012 as a Coal Ash Law Fellow, after graduating cum laud with a certificate of Environmental Law, from Tulane Law School. While at Tulane, Alayne was a student attorney with the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic and an editor of the Tulane Journal of International and Comparative Law. Before law school, she worked as a public health researcher and consultant. Alayne has a Master's degree in natural resources with a concentration in soil sciences from Cornell and Bachelor's degree in Fermentation Science from UC Davis.

Whitney Ferrell, Attorney

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.

Karen joined EIP in 2010.  She has worked in nonprofit management for over fifteen years, and was most recently with Georgetown University at the School of Foreign Service.  Previous to that, Karen was the Executive Director of Hands Along the Nile Development Services, and has served on a number of local nonprofit boards. She holds a Master’s degree in Economic Development, and a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell 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