Human Rights Lawyer Katherine Todrys and Environmental Activist Lisa DeVille will discuss their careers engaging with the law and the communities affected by some of the most important environmental issues of our day. As part of their discussion Katherine Todrys will discuss her book Black Snake: Standing Rock, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Environmental Justice and Lisa DeVille will share her experience leading her organization Fort Berthold POWER and her work on the Dakota Resource Council.

Lisa DeVille biography:

Lisa DeVille is an environmental activist and an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation. She is co-founder of Fort Berthold Protectors of Water and Earth Rights (POWER), an affiliate of the Dakota Resource Council, which works to protect the land, water and air on the Fort Berthold Reservation. She still resides on the reservation with her family in the community of Mandaree. She holds an M.B.A. in management from the University of Mary and an environmental science degree from Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College.

 Katherine Todrys biography:

Kate Todrys is a human rights lawyer and writer. Her first book, Black Snake: Standing Rock, the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Environmental Justice, was published in June 2021. She currently serves as a member of the policy and New York executive committees of Human Rights Watch and as a pro bono attorney representing children seeking asylum. Previously, Kate worked as a researcher with the Health and Human Rights division of Human Rights Watch. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and an A.B. from Harvard College.

This convening is open to all invitees who are compliant with UChicago vaccination requirements and, because of ongoing health risks, particularly to the unvaccinated, participants are expected to adopt the risk mitigation measures (masking and social distancing, etc.) appropriate to their vaccination status as advised by public health officials or to their individual vulnerabilities as advised by a medical professional. Public convening may not be safe for all and carries a risk for contracting COVID-19, particularly for those unvaccinated. Participants will not know the vaccination status of others and should follow appropriate risk mitigation measures.