معرفی
Leon Szeptycki is a Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and serves as associate director of the University of Virginia Environmental Institute. He joined the faculty in 2019 after a distinguished career at Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment, where he was professor of the practice and executive director of Water in the West. His work bridges environmental law, policy, and practical conservation initiatives, with a strong focus on water governance in the American West.
Leon Szeptycki earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1988 and clerked for Judge Stephanie Seymour of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. His professional experience includes serving as general counsel for Trout Unlimited, director of an environmental law clinic, and a legal practitioner at McGuireWoods in Charlottesville. He was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown to the board of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, overseeing one of the largest dam removal and river restoration projects in U.S. history.
His research interests center on water law and policy, particularly groundwater rights, environmental water transactions, watershed restoration, and the integration of indigenous rights into water governance. He has published extensively in leading journals such as Science, BioScience, and the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, and has contributed influential policy reports to organizations including the Public Policy Institute of California and the Union of Concerned Scientists. His recent publications highlight trends in sustainable groundwater management, environmental justice, and climate adaptation in water planning.
His scientific contributions have been featured in major media outlets such as Law360, Audubon Magazine, and the San Jose Mercury News, where he has co-authored op-eds on desalination and water policy. He is actively engaged in public scholarship and policy advising, particularly through interdisciplinary initiatives like the UVA Climate Dashboard.
Leon Szeptycki has advised on significant environmental restoration grants and initiatives, including large-scale dam removal and watershed conservation projects. He has led interdisciplinary research teams at Stanford and UVA, focusing on integrating scientific data into legal and policy frameworks for water management. His leadership in the Environmental Institute underscores his role in fostering collaborative, cross-disciplinary approaches to environmental challenges.
