HELI Practitioner in Residence Program
The HELI Practitioner in Residence Program brings nationally and internationally recognized environmental leaders to the University of Iowa College of Law for short-term, high-impact residencies. Practitioners spend several days on campus engaging deeply with students, faculty, and community partners through classes, workshops, small-group discussions, and public events.
Designed as an annual program, the Practitioner in Residence series strengthens HELI’s role as a hub for applied, interdisciplinary environmental law and policy, while giving students rare access to leaders working on the front lines of environmental protection and justice.
Enhance
Foster
Elevate
Alfred Brownell
Welcoming Alfred Brownell
Under threat of violence, environmental lawyer and activist Alfred Brownell stopped the clear-cutting of Liberia’s tropical forests by palm oil plantation developers. His campaign protected 513,500 acres of primary forest that constitute one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots, enabling indigenous communities to continue their stewardship of the forest. For his safety, he is living in temporary exile in the United States.
Each Practitioner in Residence typically spends between three to seven days in Iowa City. This immersive format allows practitioners to engage meaningfully with the Iowa Law community while contributing to broader public dialogue on pressing environmental issues
Activities may include:
Guest lectures in different courses
Small-group discussions with students, researchers, and faculty
Meetings with faculty, campus, and community partners
Flagship public event, co-hosted with partners
The Practitioner in Residence Program is designed to be collaborative. Residencies are often co-hosted with campus units, research centers, and community partners to ensure programming reaches students, professionals, and the public alike.
Upcoming Practitioner in Residence Events
Protecting Water, Protecting Community: Short Films & Dialogue on Indigenous Land and Water Defense
Join us for an evening of short films and community conversation exploring movements to protect water, land, and community.
The program will feature a curated selection of short films highlighting water protection movements in the Midwest, and beyond. Following the screenings, Dakota elder and historian Tim Mentz Sr. and Sikowis Nobiss, Cree-Saulteaux of the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan and the founder and executive director of the Great Plains Action Society, will participate in a...
Who Defends the Defenders? Exploring layers of sovereignty, legitimacy, human rights, and activism in land and environmental protection
Across the globe, Indigenous people who oppose large-scale development projects face harassment, wrongful arrest and prosecution, and, in some cases, lethal violence. In 2024 alone, more than 150 environmental defenders were reportedly killed in circumstances linked to their work against powerful commercial and government interests. Under international human rights law, many “frontline” defenders, who disproportionately come from poor, Indigenous, and rural communities, are recognized as vital...
Past Practitioner in Residence Events
From the Driftless to the Delta: Rethinking Water Protections in the Mississippi River Watershed
Join us for a timely panel discussion exploring how states, communities, and advocates are responding to the regulatory and environmental uncertainties left in the wake of the Sackett v. EPA decision. With a focus on wetlands and water protections across the Mississippi River watershed — from the bluffs of the Driftless Region to the bayous of the Delta — this conversation brings together regional experts to highlight innovative legal, policy, and collaborative approaches for safeguarding...