Event
Coal Mines to Coastlines: Energy and Environmental Policy in the Southeastern United States
Leading experts from academia and nonprofit legal advocacy organizations will join community leaders from the region to discuss energy and environmental policy in the Southeastern United States.
Through four panels — on regulatory law and agency deference, the clean energy transition, coastal communities and their unique ecosystems, and the coal industry in Appalachia — panelists will explore how a rapidly changing environment and energy landscape are affecting people and communities throughout the Southeast.
Environmental Law
Public Policy
Event Details
9-10:20 a.m. | Session I
Environmental Policy and Regulatory Participation
- Joel Eisen, Professor of Law, University of Richmond School of Law
- Heather Payne, Carter C. Kissell Professor of Law, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
- Mary Rafferty, Executive Director, Virginia Conservation Network
- Stefanie Taillon, Secretary of Natural and Historic Resources, Office of Gov. Glenn Youngkin
- Moderators: Liz Gaccione ’26, Incoming Editor-in-Chief, Virginia Environmental Law Journal; Ryan Carp ’25, Projects Director, Virginia Environmental Law Journal
10:30-11:50 a.m. | Session II
The Energy Transition: Vision and Reality
- Luke Bassett, former Senior Adviser for Domestic Climate Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Conor Harrison, Associate Professor, Department of Geography; Director of Undergraduate Studies; University of South Carolina
- Moira O’Neill, Research Associate Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law; Research Associate Professor, UVA Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost
- Leon Szeptycki, Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law; Associate Director, UVA Environmental Institute
- Moderator: Alison Gocke, Associate Professor of Law, Director, Program in Law, Communities and the Environment (PLACE)
1:10-2:30 p.m. | Session III
Coastal Communities: Changing Environments
- Karen McGlathery, Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Environmental Sciences; Director, UVA Environmental Institute; University of Virginia
- Jill Tauber, Vice President of Litigation for Climate and Energy, Earthjustice
- Sierra Weaver, Senior Attorney, Defenders of Wildlife
- Moderator: Alison Gocke, Associate Professor of Law, Director, Program in Law, Communities and the Environment (PLACE)
2:40-4 p.m. | Session IV
The Dynamics of Coal: Extraction, Transportation and Employment
- Mary Cromer, Deputy Director, Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
- Ann Eisenberg, Professor of Law; Research Director, Center for Energy and Sustainable Development; University of West Virginia College of Law
- Lathaniel Kirts, Pastor, Pray First Mission Ministries
- Moderator: Cale Jaffe ’01, Professor of Law, Director, Program in Law, Communities and the Environment (PLACE), Director, Environmental Law and Community Engagement Clinic