Environmental Activist Alfred Brownell Joins Georgetown Law as 2024-25 Drinan Chair in Human Rights

WASHINGTON — Renowned Liberian human rights lawyer and environmental advocate Alfred Lahai Brownell, Sr. has joined Georgetown Law as this academic year’s Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Chair in Human Rights.

“Georgetown Law is thrilled to welcome Alfred Brownell as this year’s Drinan Chair in Human Rights,” said Dean William M. Treanor. “As an internationally recognized environmental activist and human rights lawyer, Alfred has a wealth of experience advocating for and empowering women, Indigenous peoples and frontline communities in West Africa and around the world. Our students and the broader Georgetown community will benefit tremendously from his expertise and leadership in human rights and environmental protection.”

Brownell is one of the most prominent leaders in environmental and climate advocacy in Africa. He has worked for decades in West Africa and beyond to defend communities that seek to protect natural resources from exploitation and secure the right to a healthy and sustainable environment for all people. He is the founding president of Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef), an NGO that provides legal representation and protection for environmental rights activists around the world. As the founding executive director of Green Advocates International, Brownell pioneered a framework for environmental law within Liberia’s legal system. His efforts have led to significant successes, including the temporary protection of six million acres of forest from development by palm oil companies. But his advocacy has come at a steep personal cost; in 2016, following repeated death threats and narrowly escaping an attempt on his life, Brownell and his family were forced to flee Liberia and now live in exile in the United States.

Brownell has a passion for engaging with students and enriching law school communities with his human rights expertise. In recent years, he taught at Yale Law School, where he was the 2020–21 Tom & Andi Bernstein Visiting Human Rights Fellow. Previously, he served as an associate research professor and distinguished scholar at Northeastern University School of Law, where he was honored by the Institute of International Education Scholar Rescue Fund with the inaugural Beau Biden Chair and was a senior fellow with the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy. For these and other extraordinary accomplishments, Brownell received the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize (known as the “Green Nobel”).

Human Rights Institute Executive Director and 2019-21 Drinan Chair Elisa Massimino expressed enthusiasm for Brownell’s appointment. “Alfred is a consummate legal strategist and a true movement builder. His work has been instrumental in developing a global network of lawyers and activists dedicated to defending the human right to a healthy environment. We are so excited to have him with us at Georgetown this academic year,” she said. “As our students prepare to take up these issues as lawyers, I know Alfred will inspire them to center the concerns and perspectives of frontline defenders, advocates and community members in their work.”

“I am deeply honored to join the esteemed faculty at Georgetown Law and contribute to the impactful initiatives of the Human Rights Institute following the legacy of Father Drinan and the distinguished scholars who preceded me as Drinan Chair,” said Brownell. “I am excited about engaging with Georgetown professors and students to explore how innovative legal strategies can be used by movement-driven public interest lawyers to address emerging environmental rights issues, such as protection of environmental defenders, the climate movement and Indigenous communities. I am particularly interested in the evolution of soft law into hard law to pursue remedial actions, justice and accountability, utilizing a diverse range of judicial, quasi-judicial and non-judicial mechanisms. And I am eager to use my time here to forge connections between Georgetown Law and the global public interest law community, with a specific focus on engagement with movement lawyers across Africa.”

As Drinan Chair, Brownell will teach a course in the spring semester focused on environmental protection and human rights. He will also serve as a mentor to students and participate in the Human Rights Institute’s programming. Alfred will deliver the annual Drinan Lecture on Human Rights on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

The Drinan Chair was established in 2006 in honor of Professor Robert F. Drinan, S.J. Father Drinan was a professor at Georgetown Law for over 25 years, where he taught international human rights and constitutional law, among other topics. He was a priest, scholar, lawyer, politician, activist, ethicist and one of the nation’s leading advocates for international human rights. He dedicated his life to humanitarian causes and to improving the legal profession. The Human Rights Institute at Georgetown Law honors his legacy through its mission of being a premier training ground for future human rights lawyers and advocates.