Announcing the 2025-26 Law Scholars for Change Scholarship Recipients

Three scholarship awards recognize outstanding students who are committed to pursuing careers challenging industrial animal agriculture. Through the Law Scholars for Change Program, Camille Bond (3L) and Nicole Wood (2L) are the recipients of the 2025-26 Animal Law Tuition Scholarships, and Josephine Blatny (2L) is the recipient of the 2025-26 NEXUS Scholarship.

Founded by Charles Anderson and Pamela Gross, the Law Scholars for Change Program recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional passion and commitment to promoting the well-being and protection of animals through the law. They provide two types of scholarships for Lewis & Clark Law Students.

The annual Animal Law Tuition Scholarships support JD students pursuing a Certificate in Animal Law at Lewis & Clark Law School, with preference given to those planning to specialize in industrial animal agriculture law after graduation. The scholarships support students who strive to advance the legal status of animals through innovation, advocacy, raising public awareness, policy and regulation, and the use of new and existing laws to create positive change.

The NEXUS Scholarship provides tuition support for an environmental law JD student at Lewis & Clark Law School who is interested in the intersection (the nexus) between industrial animal agriculture and the environment. It seeks to support law students in understanding the connections among healthy animals, healthy lands, healthy people, and healthy communities, with the hope that these connections will guide recipients throughout their careers.

Together, these three JD scholarships empower Lewis & Clark Law Students to become future leaders equipped to tackle the most urgent issues at the intersection of animal protection, environmental law, and social justice. Camille, Nicole, and Josephine have shown remarkable commitment to animal protection, environmental justice, and food system reform.

Meet Camille Bond and Nicole Wood

Camille Bond (left) and Nicole Wood (right)

Meet Camille Bond

Camille brings a unique perspective to animal law, having spent two years as a reporter before attending law school. Covering agricultural and wildlife issues sparked her interest in advocacy and ultimately led her to pursue law as a way to create real-world impact for animals.

During her time at Lewis & Clark Law School, Camille has actively contributed to the animal law community. She has served as a volunteer source-checker and submissions editor for the Animal Law Review and is editor-in-chief. Through the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, she coordinated a pro bono project assisting the Oregon Bird Alliance with research on proposed amendments to the Northwest Forest Plan, assessing potential impacts on sensitive species and forest ecosystems.

Camille has also pursued opportunities to address legal and environmental challenges in animal agriculture and other contexts, working as a research assistant with Yale Law School’s Climate Change and Animal Agriculture Litigation Initiative, externing with ClientEarth to develop litigation strategies, and clerking at Western Environmental Law Center. Her spring 2026 capstone will explore regulation and potential litigation involving cellular agriculture.

“The animal law program at Lewis & Clark has helped me to deepen my understanding of animal issues and to build advocacy skills,” Camille says. “It is an honor to have received the Law Scholars for Change Scholarship, which will help to support my goal of using these tools to improve public awareness of the disastrous impacts of industrial animal agriculture and to hold the government and private sector accountable for their contributions.”

Following graduation, Camille plans to pursue a fellowship at an environmental law nonprofit, building a career focused on litigation and advocacy to drive change for farmed and wild animals.

Meet Nicole Wood

Nicole’s legal education has been guided by one goal: to dismantle industrial animal agriculture through strategic legal advocacy. They have focused their studies and work on challenging harms created by this industry, aiming to improve conditions for farmed animals as well as affected communities and ecosystems.

Before law school, Nicole worked in financial compliance, gaining firsthand insight into how laws are implemented and enforced. This experience shaped their understanding of regulatory gaps and reinforced their interest in advocating for animals by increasing corporate transparency through consumer protection and environmental laws.

At Lewis & Clark Law School, Nicole has combined research, leadership, and advocacy. They have contributed to public comments analyzing deficiencies in NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permits for large-scale poultry and cattle operations and examined international protections for farmed animals while clerking for Professor Raj Reddy. As symposium editor for the Animal Law Review and external projects chair for the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s student chapter, they organize events that foster collaboration in animal law and cultivate a network of future advocates. Nicole spent their summer clerking for the Center for Food Safety, where they supported farmed animal protection through environmental litigation.

Nicole shares: “The law is a powerful tool to hold corporations accountable for the negative externalities they create. Yet, this tool often remains inaccessible to those most affected by the harms of industrial agriculture. Lewis & Clark’s animal law program has provided a supportive and analytical community that has empowered me to explore how the law can promote meaningful and accessible protections for farmed animals. I am deeply grateful to have received the Law Scholars for Change Scholarship, which has made it possible for me to continue advancing my commitment to protecting animals, people, and the environment from the far-reaching impacts of industrial agriculture.”

After graduation, Nicole plans to pursue a career in nonprofit litigation, developing a practice focused on farmed animal protection.

Meet Josephine Blatny

Raised in rural Nebraska, Josephine developed a deep connection to the natural world through her family’s traditions of gardening, hiking, and exploring the outdoors. Early experiences foraging for mushrooms and visiting national parks inspired her appreciation for the natural world and, later, her determination to protect it.

During college, Josephine’s political science major transformed her perspective on environmental issues as she confronted the realities of the climate crisis and the environmental and public health impacts of industrial animal agriculture. A state policy project on nitrate contamination in groundwater highlighted the connection between industrial farming and devastating health outcomes in her Nebraska communities, sparking her interest in water law, environmental justice, and sustainable agricultural policy. She expanded her advocacy experience through a fellowship with Citizens’ Climate Lobby in Washington, D.C., where she researched carbon tax policies, industrial agriculture, and the Clean Water Act, while helping coordinate the organization’s national lobbying conference.

Now a second-year student, Josephine is active in Animal Law Review, Northwest Environmental Defense Council, Students for International Environmental Law, Student Bar Association, and Disability Allied Law Students Association. Last year, her work with NEDC’s Environmental Justice Committee included a project to challenge a proposed industrial route threatening East Portland communities and the Willamette River.

“I am incredibly grateful to be chosen as the NEXUS Scholarship recipient,” shares Josephine. “I believe the scholarship represents my intersecting interests in environmental and animal law. As a former Midwesterner, I grew up surrounded by industrial agriculture and quickly realized the negative impacts it was having on the environment and my community. I aspire to find solutions to this issue through a mix of policy and litigation.”

After graduation, Josephine plans to remain in Oregon to pursue nonprofit environmental law focused on the intersection between industrial agriculture and public health.

Lewis & Clark Law Students: Applications for the Law Scholars for Change Scholarships for the 2026-27 Academic Year will open in January 2026.

 

The Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) was founded in 2008 with a mission to educate the next generation of animal law advocates and advance animal protection through the law. With vision and bold risk-taking, CALS has since developed into a world-renowned animal law epicenter. CALS’ Alumni-in-Action from 30 countries are making a difference for animals around the world. CALS is a self-funded Center within the law school operating under the Lewis & Clark College 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and is able to provide these educational opportunities through donations and grants.