Rebecca Nelson
Dr Rebecca Nelson holds a Doctor of the Science of Law from Stanford University, where her dissertation focused on empirically assessing regulatory arrangements for protecting surface water and ecosystems from the impacts of pumping groundwater. She also holds a Masters in law (Stanford) and Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental) and Bachelor of Laws (University of Melbourne).
Dr Nelson formerly worked as a lawyer at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and in private practice in Australia. She is currently an Associate Professor at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, where she is also Director of the Melbourne Centre for Law and the Environment. She continues to work as an independent water lawyer and policy consultant.
Dr Nelson was an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Fellow (2018-2020), undertaking a project which analysed and evaluated laws regulating cumulative environmental effects around the world. From 2010-2014, she led the Comparative Groundwater Law and Policy Program, a collaborative initiative between Water in the West at Stanford University and the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. The Program focused on groundwater sustainability in the western US and Australia.
In 2014 Dr Nelson was named the Law Council of Australia’s Young Environmental Lawyer of the Year for her contribution to water law and environmental law. In 2016 she was the Distinguished Lecturer for the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training and IAH Australia. Dr Nelson is a Research Lead for the Melbourne Biodiversity Institute and Director of Studies for the Master of Energy and Resources Law at the Melbourne Law School. She is a member of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences and a member of the Editorial Panel for the Australasian Journal of Water Resources.
We are pleased to acknowledge Dr Nelson’s contribution to the enhancement of policy and governance for groundwater protection worldwide.
