Alumni
Alumni
Alexandra Toutant
Posted on Friday, December 12, 2025
Alexandra obtained her Master of Law degree in Environmental Law and Global Sustainability from uOttawa in 2025, focusing on sustainable finance issues. Her research examined gaps in the legal framework governing pension plan investments in non-renewable energy and contributed to the development of the Climate-Aligned Finance Act tabled in the Senate. Graduating with both a civil and common law degree (LL.L/JD) from the University of Ottawa, Alexandra is a member of the Ontario Bar. She clerked for the Chief Justice of the federal court. She currently works in the Senate of Canada, where she supports various files related to environmental policy and financing the transition to sustainability.
Reid Gomme
Posted on Friday, December 12, 2025
Reid graduated cum laude from the Common Law JD program at uOttawa in 2021. His focus on environmental law led him to Ecojustice through their clinic course at the university. He then completed his articles and became a staff lawyer at Ecojustice in 2022. His litigation work has included representing seven youth plaintiffs challenging the Ontario Government’s inadequate 2030 GHG emissions reduction target for Charter violations, and a First Nation challenging Quebec’s ‘free-entry’ mineral exploration regime for failing the duty to consult and accommodate.
Danielle Gallant
Posted on Thursday, August 13, 2020
Danielle is a graduate of uOttawa’s Master’s program in Global Sustainability and Environmental Law and now works as a staff lawyer for Ecojustice, Canada’s largest environmental law charity. In particular, she has been involved in the organization’s biggest climate case yet, representing seven youth against the Ontario Government and challenging its inadequate 2030 GHG emissions reduction target.
Sunitha Bisan
Posted on Thursday, August 13, 2020
Sunitha holds a Masters in Gender in Development from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand and a Masters in Law specializing in Global Sustainability and Environmental Law from the University of Ottawa, Canada. She has served in various positions within NGOs, the UN and government including as a Malaysian government delegate for gender in the COP21 Paris Agreement negotiations. Her scope of work includes gender research and analysis, designing gender mainstreaming implementation at government departments/NGOs/Community and program/project assessments through gender and sustainability lens.
Carla Sbert
Carla completed her Ph.D. at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Graduate Studies in Law in 2019. Her doctoral thesis, directed by CELGS’s professors Heather McLeod-Kilmurray and Nathalie Chalifour, explored the role law can play in the transition from the current economic-growth-based society to one based on ecological justice.
Mark James
Posted on Friday, August 7, 2020
Mark James graduated cum laude from the English Common JD program with the Option in Environmental Law in 2014. He is currently adjunct faculty at Vermont Law School (VLS) and a Senior Fellow in the Institute of Energy and the Environment.
Thomas Burelli
Posted on Sunday, June 21, 2020
Thomas Burelli holds a Ph.D in Law from the University of Ottawa (2019), an LL.M in Law from the University of Ottawa (2008), an MA in anthropology of law from the University of Paris I (2009) and a Master's of Industrial Property from the University of Paris 8 (2012).
Laurel Besco
Posted on Sunday, June 1, 2014
Laurel holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Master of Arts, both from the University of Waterloo. While working on her Masters' thesis, entitled Climate Policy and International Tourism Arrivals to the Caribbean Region, Laurel was drawn to the legal and policy aspects of her work. These interests ultimately lead her to the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Law where she completed a PhD in green productivity, sustainability and law. She is currently at Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga in the Institute for Management and Innovation and the Geography Department.
Jonathan Laski
Posted on Monday, April 29, 2013
Jonathan graduated from uOttawa’s Common Law program in 2009, with a specialization in Environmental Law. He articled with a large, independent Bay Street firm and became an associate in the corporate/commercial practice group, with a particular focus on renewable energy and infrastructure.