New York Staff Attorney
Dara joined Save the Sound as the New York Staff Attorney in October 2023. She comes to Save the Sound following a judicial clerkship in Anchorage with the Honorable Chief Justice Peter J. Maassen of the Alaska Supreme Court. Growing up in the Hudson Valley, Dara loved visiting the beautiful beaches of the Long Island Sound region. She is very grateful for the opportunity to return to and give back to this region that is so special to her and so many others.
Dara graduated first in her class from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon with a J.D. and a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law in 2022. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Environmental Science from Brown University. During law school she was a summer associate at public interest environmental law firms Kampmeier & Knutsen and Crag Law Center. She was also a law clerk at the Center for Biological Diversity, a Board Member and Student Director at the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, the Ninth Circuit Review Editor of Environmental Law Review, a clinical student at Earthrise Law Center, a member of the national Energy and Sustainability Moot Court team, a research assistant, and a Lawyering Teaching Fellow. Dara’s scholarly work has been published in Environmental Law Review and Oregon Law Review. Prior to law school Dara worked in environmental education and as a legal assistant at the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program. Dara is admitted to practice in Oregon and New York.
Dara will miss Nordic skiing right out her front door in Alaska, but she is thrilled to return home to New York where she looks forward to spending her free time birding, dancing, playing music, rock climbing, paddling, skiing, camping, and hiking with her rescue dog, Fernanda.