Clinton Ikechukwu Ezeigwe is a trained Nigerian attorney and water activist currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Global Affairs with a concentration in Governance and Policy at the University of Notre Dame. His professional journey includes notable experience at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in Washington, D.C., where he contributed to the international plastic project, focusing on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), with an emphasis on compliance and enforcement. With over nine years of experience in advocacy, community development, and networking, Clinton has established and maintained relationships with a diverse array of stakeholders across both private and public sectors. He has effectively utilized advocacy and campaign strategies to influence political agendas related to international development. Before his time as an ELI Jim Rubin Fellow, he had coordinated the End Water Poverty #ClaimYourWaterRights campaign in Nigeria. Additionally, he served as Campaign Manager for the Christian Fellowship and Care Foundation, leading initiatives focused on access to safe water and climate justice, and supporting communities in filing complaints with National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and local authorities to hold governments accountable within the framework of international human rights. In 2020, Clinton was appointed the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Youth Champion, where he advised on youth engagement opportunities and played a pivotal role in enhancing inclusive youth participation in SWA campaigns. In this role, he collaborated with global partners to launch a youth statement on COVID-19, advocating for the prioritization of water and sanitation in response to the pandemic. Clinton is also the founder of the Preventing Marine Plastic Pollution in Nigeria (PREMPPiN) initiative, dedicated to educating and mobilizing youth to combat plastic waste and ocean pollution through workshops, weekend activities, and after-school programs. He holds a law degree from Ebonyi State University and obtained his Barrister at Law qualification from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja campus. Clinton is passionate about human rights, environmental justice, and sustainability.

Prakriti is a lawyer trained in India, where she practiced human rights and environmental litigation. Her work has included public interest litigation for the right to access water in a Mumbai slum and a legal challenge to construction on wetlands. She is currently pursuing her LL.M. degree in International and Comparative Law with a concentration in human rights at the George Washington University Law School. Prakriti has worked on and assisted with several research projects on environmental law and policy such as climate migration, marine plastic pollution and indigenous rights. Her passion lies at the intersection of human rights, the environment and justice. Prakriti holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Mumbai and a B.A. in Environmental Analysis & Policy and English from Boston University.

Karabo is a Legal and Development Practitioner focusing on human rights protection, effective implementation of international law and grassroot peacebuilding. Her work is mainly characterised by legal advice (mainly in human rights, public law and international law), advocacy and campaigning, project/program management and coordination, development research, advisory work and data management. She has worked with several multilaterals (e.g. African Union, United Nations and Commonwealth) and civil society organisations (e.g. CIVICUS, Change.org, Sesi Fellowship and Skill Hub) to advise and implement development programs. She has further advised government entities (e.g. GIZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, Stockholm International Water Institute, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa) on inclusion and effective representation in developing programmes and policies for youth, womxn and other marginalised communities/identities. She has a Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing and Law) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Witwatersrand and she is currently completing a Masters in International Law with the same institution. Karabo has approximately 7+ years worth of experience working in the development sector from a grassroot to international level. However, she has also worked in the legal sector with institutions like Webber Wentzel, Wits Law Clinic and the Constitutional Court of South Africa. She has been granted several awards for the work that she does e.g. 50 Most Powerful Women in South Africa for 2022 by Mail and Guardian, 2022 Outstanding Youth Philanthropist by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and 100 Most Influential Young Africans of 2021 by Avance Media. Karabo publishes on Mail and Guardian, Business Live and other media platforms op-eds on various public interest topics including climate change, gender and youth, human rights, legal developments and peacebuilding.

Junhong Li was a legal scholar from China. Between April 2019 and January 2020, she worked at the China Environmental Protection Foundation (CEPF), where she managed CEPF’s NGO environmental public interest litigation capacity-building project. Junhong worked for the UN Environment-China University of Political Science and Law Environmental Law Academy and as a project manager for Centre for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims (CLAPV) at the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPSL), where she managed internationally funded programs for training judges, prosecutors, lawyers, environmental law enforcement officers, environmental NGOs staff and journalists on environmental legal practice and environmental public interest litigation in China. She also participated in research projects on legislation of climate change, protection of marine biodiversity in the areas beyond national jurisdiction, the revision of Fishery Law of China and wildlife protection in China, and work related to cooperation on environmental rule of law among Belt & Road Countries. She has participated in ministry-level projects on environmental legislation and policy of China through her affiliation with CUPSL. Junhong holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom; an LL.M. from CUPSL, and bachelor degrees from Renmin University of China and Henan Normal University.

Alexander is an Attorney at Law licensed to practice in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. He possesses an LLM from the University of the West Indies in Legislative Drafting and is presently pursuing an LLM in Environmental, Natural Resources and Energy Law at the Lewis and Clark Law School in Oregon. Prior to beginning LLM studies, Alexander was the Jim Rubin International Fellow at the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) where he contributed to the preparation of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) Report on the Environmental Rule of Law and conducted independent research on the extractive sector in Trinidad and Tobago. His career began as legal counsel at Fishermen and Friends of the Sea where he coordinated several strategic litigations and participated in the stakeholder review of several environmental laws regionally. Presently, he is the external legislative drafting and environmental law consultant at the Guyanese firm Persaud, Goopeesingh and Co. and collaborates with the Shridath Ramphal Research Centre at the University of the West Indies Cavehill Campus on their various climate change research initiatives.

Ginary Tatiana Gutiérrez Robledo is a Colombian-trained lawyer with certificates in human rights and constitutional law. She has previously worked as an attorney at the Procuraduria General de la Nacion/Inspector Attorney General Office in Bogotá, Colombia. Her work has included coordinating the monitoring processes of government compliance with agreements made between the government and Afro-Pacific communities, collaborating with communities to educate people on their human rights, developing community empowerment strategies for exercising democratic rights to fight corruption, and handling matters related to environmental justice. Trained in both Colombia and the United States, Ginary graduated from Duke University Law School with an LL.M. in May 2020 as a fellow of the Racial Discrimination Watch of Dejusticia and Ford Foundation. Prior to Duke, she studied at the Rosario University Law School in Bogotá, Colombia where she received an M.A. in administrative law and an undergraduate law degree in 2018.