The Fourth-Annual State of the Environment Conference, held by the Vanderbilt Law School’s Energy, Environment, and Land Use (EELU) Program, took place on January 21 at Vanderbilt Law School. Faculty, policymakers, and experts discussed major environmental issues in the Southeast. Supported by the Sally Shallenberger Brown Program Fund, the conference consisted of five panels, followed by a networking reception.
State of the Environment Report Presentation
The conference’s opening panel featured multiple reports on environmental conditions in Tennessee and the Southeast U.S. The panelists discussed the impact of climate change, the need for updated environmental data, AI’s role in data collection, and the importance of regional collaboration. Moderated by Professor and EELU Co-Director Mike Vandenbergh, the panel featured Ethan Thorpe, Private Climate Governance Lab Fellow at Vanderbilt Law; Erin Hafkenschiel, President of Think Tennessee; and Brad Campbell, President of the Conservation Law Foundation.
Watch the panel below or on our YouTube Channel
State of Water
Panelists in the State of Water session focused on the critical status of Tennessee’s water resources, underscoring the need for comprehensive water management and protection of the state’s aquatic biodiversity.
Panelists included George Nolan, TN Office Executive Director for the Southern Environmental Law Center; Jenny Howard, General Counsel for the TN Department of Environment & Conservation; and Barry Sulkin, an Environmental Consultant and Water Expert. Professor and EELU Co-Director J.B. Ruhl moderated.
Watch the panel below or on our YouTube Channel
State of Energy
Renewable energy transitions and data center-driven energy demand took centerstage in the third panel of the day. Panelists stressed the need for more ambitious renewable energy targets and policies, as well as the need for utilities to front infrastructure costs.
Professor Jim Rossi moderated the panel, which featured Teresa Boyles-Aplin, President & CEO of Nashville Electric Service; Steve Smith, Executive Director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy; and Tiffany Wilmot, President of Wilmot, Inc.
Watch the panel below or on our YouTube Channel
State of Land Use and Conservation
Moderated by Professor Christopher Serkin, panelists discussed Nashville’s growth, conservation efforts, and the intersection between land use regulation, property rights, and conservation. They also touched on the challenges of zoning and the importance of public funding.
Panelists included Lucy Kempf, Executive Director of the Metro Nashville – Davidson County Planning Department; Alice Hudson Pell, Executive Director of the TennGreen Land Conservancy, and Noel Durant, TN State Director of The Trust for Public Land.
Watch the panel below or on our YouTube Channel
State of Scholarship and Innovation
Faculty and students from across Vanderbilt discussed interdisciplinary research on a variety of topics, including wildfire propagation and healthcare system recovery; the role of AI in energy demand; post-election governance; and more.
Moderated by Teri Donaldson, the panel included Mike Vandenbergh; Linda Breggin, Law School Lecturer and Senior Attorney at the Environmental Law Institute; Leigh Fox ’26, Symposium Editor for ELPAR; and Hussam Mahmoud, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy, and Climate (VSEC).
Watch the panel below or on our YouTube Channel
