Team

Arpitha Kodiveri received her Doctoral degree in law from the European University Institute as a Hans Kelsen Fellow. At CLX, she focuses regionally on the Asia-Pacific and topically on loss and damage and anti-authoritarianism. She has previously practiced as an environmental lawyer in India, supporting forest-dwelling communities. She has an LLM from UC Berkeley, where she was a Fulbright Nehru Fellow, and a BSL LLB from ILS Law College, Pune.

Ashley is a Research Scholar and Project Supervisor at the CHRGJ and the Earth Rights Advocacy Clinic working on issues related to climate impacts, economic justice, and human rights. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law (cum laude), where she was awarded the International Human Rights Convocation Award, the LACA Kim Barry ’98 Memorial Convocation Award for Human Rights, and the Edmond Cahn Law Review Convocation Award. Ashley also holds a M.S in Entrepreneurship (cum laude) and B.S. in Accounting (cum laude) from the University of Florida.

Prior to joining the CHRGJ, Ashley was an associate in White & Case’s International Arbitration Group, working with foreign sovereigns and private companies to resolve complex disputes before investor-state and commercial arbitration tribunals. Ashley’s pro bono practice at White & Case focused on international human rights and humanitarian law, which included clients like the United Nations, the Public Interest Law & Policy Group, the Human Right 2 Water, and Oxfam America.

During law school, Ashley was the President of the Latinx Law Students Association and an Articles Editor for the New York University Law Review. She also served as a Legal Advisor to the Solomon Islands Permanent Mission to the United Nations, advising on matters before the Second and Sixth Committee of the General Assembly, as well as on multi-lateral treaty negotiations and submissions to the International Law Commission. Prior to law school, Ashley was a Certified Public Accountant and Audit Associate at KPMG.

Ashley is a licensed attorney in the State of New York and the District of Columbia.

Ayisha Siddiqa graduated with a Bachelors in Political Science and English from Hunter College (CUNY). She is the co-founder of Polluters Out and Fossil Free University, initiatives focused on uplifting the rights of marginalized communities while holding polluting companies accountable. She is currently serving as a Climate Advisor to the UN Secretary General.

Carlos Andrés Baquero-Díaz is a Research Assistant at CLX and a JSD student at New York University School of Law. At CLX, his research has been on the rights of nature, property rights, and environmental protection. He has an LLM in International Legal Studies from NYU Law, where he was a Hauser Global Scholar and the 2019 recipient of the Jerome Lipper Award. He also has a J.D. and a B.A. in Political Science from Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). Prior to joining CLX and starting his JSD, Carlos Andrés worked at Dejusticia, the Center for the Study of the Law, the Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment, and the Comunidad de Juristas Akubadaura.

César Rodríguez-Garavito is the founding director of the Climate Law Accelerator. He is a Professor of Clinical Law and Chair of the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at NYU School of Law. Professor Rodríguez-Garavito is a human rights and environmental justice scholar and practitioner whose interests focus on climate change, Indigenous peoples’ rights, biodiversity, rights of nature, business and human rights, and the human rights movement.

Henessa provides administrative and operational support for the Climate Law Accelerator at NYU Law. She studied philosophy, political science, and economics at Rutgers University. Prior to joining NYU Law, she worked in disability justice, representing disabled community members in claims and appeals for public benefits. She also has a background in grassroots/campaign organizing and is committed to inclusivity in movement building.

Jacob Metz-Lerman is a Research Scholar at the CHRGJ, working on the Earth Rights Advocacy team. Jacob works on issues related to climate litigation, climate justice, and climate displacement.

Jacob holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law (cum laude), where he was awarded the Ann Petluck Poses Memorial Prize for his clinical work during law school. Jacob was a student advocate in the Earth Rights Advocacy Clinic and Immigrant Rights Clinic. Jacob also holds a B.A. in Political Science from Grinnell College. Prior to law school, Jacob spent three years representing asylum seekers in Cairo, Egypt.

Jacqueline Gallant is a Litigation Associate at the Climate Litigation Accelerator (CLX). At CLX, she works as a generalist, covering projects from all around the world and on a diverse set of topics, from human rights and climate change to the rights of nature to rights-based biodiversity litigation. She has a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in International Relations from Brown University.

Melina De Bona is a Litigation Associate at the Climate Litigation Accelerator (CLX). At CLX, she focuses regionally on Latin America and the Caribbean and topically on corporate accountability. She has a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Chicago. Prior to joining CLX, she spent a year working for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, specializing in international arbitration, white-collar crime investigations, and sustainability.

Nathalia Dutra graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 2019 from the Escola de Direito da Fundação Getulio Vargas in São Paulo, Brazil. She also holds an LL.M in European and International Human Rights Law from Leiden University in the Netherlands.