ADVISORY GROUP

Tseming Yang

Tseming Yang is a Professor of Law at Santa Clara University Law School in California, and is former Deputy General Counsel for the United States Environmental Protection Agency appointed by President Barack Obama. From 2007-10, he led the establishment of the US-China Partnership for Environmental Law, a USAID and State Department-funded initiative to build China’s institutional capacity in environmental law and governance.  Professor Yang’s research and practice focus on advancing understanding of the structure and role of the law with respect to the environment, as well as how to ensure that effective implementation will contribute to the achievement of justice and sustainability.  He has expertise in environmental law in international treaties, and in the law and governance systems of other countries.

Professor Yang in 2009 was honoured by the American Bar Association as a Distinguished Environmental Advocate. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Earthjustice, the nation’s largest public interest environmental law firm, and works closely with the student Environmental Law Society devoting a substantial amount of time providing career advice and helping law students obtain internships and jobs in the environmental field.

Professor Yang earned his JD degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, and holds a BA in Biochemistry from Harvard University.

In his spare time, Professor Yang enjoys discussing books with his daughter Gwen-Zoe, competes in half-marathon races (more with himself than with other runners), and is an avid gardener.  His commentary on contemporary developments related to the environment and the law can be found on his blog at citizenyang.com.

Sandie Ha

Sandie Ha is an environmental and perinatal epidemiologist, and is an Assistant Professor with the Graduate Public Health Programme at the University of California, Merced. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Ha’s research focuses on identifying and understanding environmental risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes and investigating how prenatal exposures affect subsequent health for both mothers and babies. Her other research interest includes, identifying vulnerable sub-groups within environmentally at-risk populations as a means of developing effective targeted intervention(s).

Dr. Ha is credited with over thirty scientific peer-reviewed publications looking at the effects of air pollution and ambient temperature on adult, child, and prenatal health outcomes. She co-authored the chapter “Ambient Air Pollution and Reproductive Health” in the scientific text The impact of air pollution: on health, economy, environmental and agricultural sources, and has had her research work covered by national media outlets including CNN, HLN, Reuters, the New York Times, The Atlantic, and U.S. News & World Report.

Dr. Ha holds MPH and PhD degrees in Epidemiology from the University of Florida, and earned a BS in Biology/Physiology from the University of Washington, Seattle.

Ted Schettler

Ted Schettler is an accomplished physician, and well-known environmental health advocate. He is the Science Director for the Science and Environmental Health Network, and is on the advisory board of the organisation Collaborative on Health and the Environment. Dr. Schettler has worked extensively with community groups and non-governmental organisations throughout the United States and internationally including a current project with the coalition Health Care Without Harm examining ways to improve environmental performance of hospitals and other healthcare institutions. He has served on advisory committees of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Schettler is credited with a number of articles in journals such as Neurotoxicology, CMAJ, and Environmental Health Perspectives on topics ranging from risk assessment to the effect of chemicals on neurodevelopment, and endocrine disruption. He is the author of The Ecology of Breast Cancer: The Promise of Prevention and the Hope for Healing, and has co-authored following books on health and environment, Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment, In Harm’s Way: Toxic Threats to Child Development, Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging: With a Closer Look at Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases, and A Story of Health.

Dr. Schettler holds an MPH from Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, and earned his MD degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Sohee Minsun Kim

Sohee Kim is an Assistant Professor with the Urban Environmental Management Programme at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. As a research fellow with the Japan Society For The Promotion of Science she worked to develop an integrated urban environmental governance platform within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, India. She was also a postdoctoral research fellow with the United Nations University Institute for Sustainability and Peace, Tokyo where she developed a research framework and database of indicator modules and case studies that evolved into the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Dr. Kim’s primary focus of research is the assessment and policy development for sustainable (peri-) urban land use and livelihood.

Dr. Kim is credited with nearly twenty-five peer-reviewed research publications, conference proceedings, books and research reports on urban sustainable planning, integrated urban-rural land use planning, disaster risk reduction and climate change, and community-based ecosystem and resource management. She is currently awarded research grants with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the ASEAN CSR Network, USAID, and proSPER.net.

Dr. Kim holds MS and PhD degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from the Graduate School of Urban Engineering, International and Regional Planning at the University of Tokyo, and earned her BA in Architecture and Landscape Design from Tama Art University, Tokyo. She is a member of the International Society for City and Regional Planners.

Sheldon Novick

Sheldon Novick is the founder and head of the Community Development Law Center in Norwich, Vermont (United States), a private foundation purposed to assist in sustainable community development through legal and technical information support for locally owned microenterprises, local government, and non-profit organisations.

Professor Novick was appointed Scholar-in-Residence at Vermont Law School, a position he held for 28 years imparting expertise in legal theory and practice on topics ranging from historical perspectives on law to state and local government.

He served as regional counsel with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and as staff attorney with the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, DC.

Prior to his legal and academic career Professor Novick was a biologist, and environmental journalist with Environment magazine. He was recruited by Barry Commoner, famed ecologist, and one of the pioneers of modern environmentalism, to help form what would become the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems at Washington University in St. Louis.

Professor Novick has authored a number of legal and historical texts including, Law of Environmental Protection (co-authored with Margaret Mellon), and the three-volume tome, the Collected Works of Justice Holmes. He has penned nearly 200 published essays in periodicals including, the Harvard Law Review, the Supreme Court Review, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, and Environment magazine among others.

Professor Novick earned his JD degree from Washington University School of Law – St. Louis, and holds a BS in Biology from Antioch College.