As Josh Mandelbaum (09JD) likes to say, “Iowa could be the state that gets to 100% clean energy around the clock.”

Mandelbaum, a Des Moines-based senior attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, is referring to the potential of the state’s substantial, and complementary, wind and solar resources to provide 24/7 green electrical power generation. And as a longtime practitioner of environmental law, he knows that the accomplishment of such a goal and other environmental solutions require the collaboration of people from different disciplines, organizations, and viewpoints.

In part, that realization has led Mandelbaum to actively participate in the collaboration-building events organized as part of Iowa Law’s Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative (HELI).

“The Hubbell Initiative has been an important opportunity for stakeholders to exchange information, talk about solutions, and explore how folks can better collaborate to work toward common goals,” Mandelbaum said, explaining that he has engaged in multiple conversations about how HELI can help advance the field of environmental law. He has also attended a number of related events and was an expert panelist at the Solar Energy in Iowa event.

“I’ve used my participation as both a learning opportunity and a networking opportunity,” he said.

The Hubbell Initiative was established in early 2022 to expand opportunities for Iowa Law to intensify multidisciplinary engagement on environmental issues. The initiative was created with a $5 million gift from Charlotte Beyer Hubbell (76JD) and Fred Hubbell (76JD) with an explicit focus on helping their home state of Iowa by addressing the state’s main environmental problems. Water quality is a major problem in the state, mostly related to agricultural runoff, and despite the state’s embrace of wind energy, much electricity generation is still provided by inefficient, polluting coal-burning power plants.

“We face a water-quality crisis; we face a climate crisis. The climate crisis is obviously bigger than the state of Iowa, but the solutions can absolutely be found in Iowa, and the local impacts are found here, too,” said Mandelbaum.  

Promoting Increased Engagement

In HELI’s first year, Shannon Roesler, faculty director of the initiative, said it sponsored events focused on such topics as solar energy, carbon pipelines, climate change, and biodiversity. Those events invited wide-ranging perspectives on the issues, such as those coming from policy experts, academics, industry representatives, landowners, and environmentalists.

“In addition to enriching our students’ academic experiences, these discussions engaged people from across campus and the wider community,” Roesler said.

Roesler said that HELI has also expanded connections between students and alumni who practice environmental law, established more externship and internship opportunities, and awarded funding to students in unpaid environmental law internships at governmental agencies or nonprofits.

“There is a growing demand in the area of environmental law at the College of Law, and HELI is helping us meet that demand,” Roesler said.

This fall, HELI program director Blake Rupe said HELI and the Iowa State Bar Association will host an environmental law seminar in Des Moines and Iowa City.

“This will serve to unite the environmental bar, as well as offer Iowa Law students a chance to network and connect with practitioners and thought leaders.”

For Amanda De Jong (05JD), farmer and head of government affairs and policy engagement at Pivot Bio, a microbial nitrogen fertilizer company, HELI’s facilitation of collaborative efforts on environmental issues is crucial.

“This is one, if not the most, important thing that HELI can contribute. In the hyper-politicized and almost angry societal environment we find ourselves in, creating a space where different viewpoints can be heard on really tough issues is critical,” De Jong said. “Building a fair and open-minded group can alleviate some of these challenges.

“HELI can be a great conveyor and the right neutral party to be a facilitator,” said De Jong, who served as the state executive director of the Iowa Farm Service Agency from 2017 to 2020. “If we can learn anything from the implementation of the Clean Water Act or the Endangered Species Act, it’s that building consensus early and finding a way for the parties to work together can result in solutions being implemented earlier.”

Engaging and Encouraging Diverse Perspectives 

Leo Tyree (05JD), associate regional counsel at the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, has worked with Iowa Law, and more recently with the Hubbell Initiative, since 2020. Through that interaction, Tyree focused on developing programming, providing mentorship opportunities, and preparing and recruiting Iowa Law students for federal internships, clerkships, fellowships, and other legal positions.

“The goal is to increase community engagement on these issues by introducing the growing field of environmental law to students, providing real-world learning opportunities to students who have a demonstrated interest, and connecting students with some of the foremost legal experts in the field,” Tyree said.

Tyree also sees the collaboration with HELI as a way to make sure that members of underserved and traditionally marginalized communities participate in conversations about the environment, particularly as those communities are often hardest hit by environmental problems. 

“In order to make the best decisions,” Tyree said, “everyone has to have equal opportunity to be heard, including individuals from impacted rural and urban communities.”

Of course, one way to diversify participation in discussions about environmental issues is to make sure that future lawyers and policymakers represent a diverse population themselves.

“In my work with Iowa Law and HELI, we’re trying to make sure that law students understand emerging legal issues and are prepared to engage with them in practice. Iowa Law has been very supportive in developing and expanding career pathways for first-generation and diverse students,” Tyree said.

The most urgent environmental problems and their solutions must bring
together representatives of the public, industry, activists, government, and the law. Iowa Law, through HELI, is orchestrating some of that confluence to ensure environmental initiatives get the broadest input possible and create an efficient space to smooth out difficult conflicts.

As Mandelbaum pointed out, “It’s always helpful for folks to sit down together.” 

Solar Policy Panel Series

The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative publicly launched with a solar energy event, convening policy experts, researchers, industry members, public employees, and nonprofit organization representatives.

The series of panels, which was hosted at the Boyd Law Building, featured 17 speakers from seven different counties across two states. More than 300 attendees (195 in person and 129 virtually) heard about specific challenges to implementing solar energy.

Event recordings are available at law.uiowa.edu/hubbellsolar.

Support for Tomorrow’s Environmental Lawyers

Hubbell Scholarships enable students to gain invaluable experience

Two recipients of Hubbell Scholarships, Alec Goos and Jonathan Humston, now second-year students at Iowa Law, worked as law clerks at the Iowa Environmental Council (IEC) in Des Moines this past summer. The Hubbell Initiative provides stipends of $5,000 to students interested in environmental law to support them in unpaid positions at government agencies or nonprofits. The funding is part of their admission package and is intended to be used the summer after their first year of law school. 

Goos says he was able to work on substantive matters right away at IEC and received extensive support.

“This guidance has allowed me to explore my interests and understand my goals,” Goos said. “I am grateful to work with such a dedicated team that is committed to protecting Iowa’s environment because this advocacy will influence me for the rest of my career.”

Humston says he plans to practice in Iowa because he is committed to helping the people and communities of the state.

“Receiving a Hubbell Scholarship has allowed me to start that work,” Humston said. “I’ve learned about many environmental issues we face and met many of the people and organizations making an impact in this space. The Hubbell Scholarship helped show me the many ways a lawyer can make a difference in the environmental future of Iowa.”