Opportunities with CELP
We are a small staff, so our volunteers provide critical support to build CELP’s capacity and expand our reach. Our work is varied and so the opportunities for volunteers are too! Take a look at some of the common focus areas our volunteers help us with, or feel free to let us know what unique skills, experience, or expertise you can share.
Employment
There are no opportunities at this time, please check back.
CELP is an equal opportunity employer and actively works to ensure fair and equal treatment of its employees and constituents regardless of differences based on culture, socioeconomic status, race, marital or family situation, gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, physical ability, or sexual orientation. CELP especially encourages people re-entering the workforce, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and older applicants to apply.
Volunteering
Litigation + Policy
CELP reaches as far as it does thanks to our dedicated team of volunteer attorneys, paralegals and law students. If you are an attorney or paralegal interested in working with us on policy, legislation, or litigation, please reach out to us! Law students completing their second year are invited to apply for our summer internships. Coursework in environmental or administrative law is required.
Events + Outreach
Are you passionate about our mission and want to help others understand the importance of acting on behalf of our waterways? Or, maybe you’re a photographer, writer, or artist that wants to get involved. Join us working events around the state – we need all kinds of event help, from planning and helping at our annual Celebrate Waters Event to tabling at markets and festivals!
Legal Internship
Each summer, CELP seeks to host a legal intern with a demonstrated interest in environmental issues. There are a number of projects interns may work on researching issues related to water management in Washington, identifying alternative water legal systems, drafting potential legislation, submitting comments and responses to agency rulemaking, and engaging in litigation. Exact internship dates are flexible depending on academic schedules but generally run from June to August and last 10 weeks.
Qualified candidates will have completed their 2L year and taken an environmental law course, with coursework or clinical experience in administrative law preferred. Applications are typically due by mid-March, so check back in early January for more details on the application process. For additional information, please email Trish Rolfe at trolfe@celp.org
Former Interns
Bridget Bryck, 2022
Raised in the foothills of the White Mountains, Bridget has been passionate about the outdoors since childhood. After volunteering in American Samoa, Bridget decided to pursue a career that would allow her to work towards protecting natural resources and the wild places she loves. She came to CELP as a law student at the University of Washington School of Law, where she developed an interest in the intersection of Indigenous rights and environmental law. Bridget loves ski touring, backpacking, and baking plenty of snacks to fuel her adventures.
Ling Zhuang, 2021
During her time with CELP, Ling was an LLM student at the University of Washington School of Law. Prior to that, she was a full-stack GIS (Geographic Information System) developer for two decades, working with governmental agencies from federal to municipal, such as the Bureau of Land Management and Seattle Public Utilities. Ling also has led and participated in numerous community services. She currently serves as a commissioner for the City of Bellevue Environmental Services Commission.
Sara Gaylon, 2020
When Sara came to CELP, she was a rising 3L at Vermont Law School and received her Bachelor’s in Economics & History from the University of Oregon. Prior to beginning law school, Sara worked for the California State Water Resources Control Board. Sara became interested in water law because she was raised in an environmentally-focused family and has always had a passion for protecting our natural resources. Sara grew up in the outdoors, camping, and hiking in the Sierra Nevadas. Now, she’s enjoying the Green Mountains in Vermont.
Jennifer Seely, 2020
Jennifer served as a student extern with CELP during the spring of 2020. She synthesized law and science to draft a comment opposing a proposed flood control dam in the Chehalis basin, advocating instead for a resilient landscape design approach that would better serve all upstream and downstream Chehalis River communities.
Jennifer is a student at the University of Washington School of Law. She received her Bachelor’s in Anthropology with a concentration in environmental studies from Kenyon College.
Ted Howard, 2019 Fellow
A recently-minted attorney, Ted was with CELP on a one-year fellowship. He received a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.Phil. from the University of Oslo in Norway. Ted has previously worked with the Sierra Club, Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe in South Dakota, and was a founding editor of the interdisciplinary environmental journal Tvergastein. Ted grew up surrounded by the natural splendor of Puget Sound, in Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island.
During his fellowship Ted wrote a paper on the water supply effect of agricultural efficiency. He participated in WRIA 49 watershed planning meetings, studied habitat mitigation scoring, did extensive public records research, including review of Ecology’s water right curtailments, helped draft comment letters, and assisted on some of CELP’s ongoing litigation. We are thankful for all of his work.
Meredith Bro, 2018
While earning her undergraduate degree from The University of Mississippi in political science and journalism, Meredith spent time interning in Washington, D.C. at a bipartisan consulting firm where she gained unique insight into the realm of political advocacy. Following her undergraduate career, she headed to the Big Easy to attend law school, which lead to her interest in natural resources law. She then interned with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources where she developed a greater understanding of the interconnectivity between the roles of the state and federal governments, as well as private entities and their relationship with our environment.
When not in school, Meredith enjoys hiking, kayaking, and riding her bike along the New Orleans levee. During her time at CELP, she hopes to gain a greater understanding of Washington State water law as a tool to craft rules that set a sustainable standard for water use in Washington state.
Maggie Franquemont, 2017
Maggie Franquemont grew up along Colorado’s Front Range and let her love of the outdoors take her to Bozeman, MT where she earned her BS in Land Rehabilitation from Montana State University. Working for the national parks inspired her to return to school to pursue her JD from the University of Oregon where she is beginning her final year. Maggie hopes to focus on water law and encouraging interdisciplinary work so that she can fight our planet’s environmental problems on a united front across many interests. In addition to skiing and climbing Maggie also enjoys biking and kayaking across the Pacific Northwest. Her favorite dinosaur is the Stegosaurus.
Maggie was hired on as the Legal and Policy Director in the summer of 2021.