Elizabeth Trujillo

Elizabeth Trujillo is the Mary Ann & Lawrence E. Faust Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center and currently serves as a Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at the European University Institute (EUI), affiliated with the Department of Law in Florence. She is the Founding Director of the Initiative on Global Law and Policy for the Americas, reflecting her deep engagement with transnational legal frameworks in the Western Hemisphere. Her academic journey includes prior professorships at Texas A&M University School of Law (2016–2019) and Suffolk University Law School (2007–2016), where she was honored with the 2012 Latina Trailblazer Award. She has also held visiting positions at Florida State University, Harvard Law School, and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law.

Her research centers on the intersection of international trade law, sustainable development, climate governance, and energy policy, with a strong emphasis on the Americas. She employs comparative legal methods to analyze how international economic law can be restructured to support decarbonization, environmental justice, and constitutional rights related to nature. Trujillo is currently finalizing a book with Cambridge University Press titled SHATTERED PRISMS: USING FRAGMENTATION TO RECONFIGURE TRADE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT and co-authoring a chapter for an Oxford University Press volume on comparative trade law. Her work has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of International Economic Law, Duke Journal of International and Comparative Law, and Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies.

Trujillo’s scholarship reveals a consistent trend toward integrating sustainability into international legal frameworks, particularly through innovative interpretations of trade agreements like USMCA. Her publications demonstrate a multidisciplinary approach combining legal analysis with political economy, environmental justice, and institutional governance. She critically examines how legal fragmentation can be leveraged to create more coherent, equitable, and environmentally sound trade systems.

• 2012 Latina Trailblazer Award, Hispanic National Bar Association
• 2024 Global Faculty Award, University of Houston
• Inductee, University of Houston President’s 2025 Circle Awards
• Elected Member, American Law Institute

Professor Trujillo has advised and led numerous research initiatives, particularly through her directorship of the Initiative on Global Law and Policy for the Americas. She has secured significant recognition and grant support for her internationally focused teaching and research. Her work contributes to shaping future trade policies that prioritize sustainable development, equity, and transnational cooperation. At the EUI, she is part of a vibrant academic community focused on global governance, law, and policy innovation.