Bella Sewall Wolitz is an Adjunct Professor of Law and teaches a seminar on Water Law. Professor Sewall Wolitz also works in private practice at the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP and represents tribes, water districts, and corporations before Congress, the Department of the Interior, and the courts on tribal issues and Western natural resource issues. Bella developed expertise during 13 years with the Department of the Interior working in several roles. While there, she served as an attorney in the Solicitor’s Office advising the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Geological Survey. As the assistant legislative counsel in the Office of the Secretary, she prepared officials for congressional hearings, drafted legislative proposals and worked with the White House, Congress and other federal agencies to accomplish the Secretary of the Interior’s legislative agenda. In recognition of her proficiency while serving in the federal government, Bella received the Solicitor’s Excellence Individual Award, the Secretary’s Indian Water Rights Office Star Award, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service and the Department of Justice’s Certificate of Commendation.
