Melanie E. Kleiss Boerger graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2004 with a JD and an MS in Science, Technology & Environmental Policy. She received her BA in Biology and German from the University of Minnesota at Morris. Before pursuing her law and policy degrees, she worked as a research assistant for a variety of biological field studies, including bird banding projects at the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and post-hurricane research at the El Verde Field Station in Puerto Rico. She also founded a web design company.

While pursuing her JD and MS, Ms. Kleiss Boerger held summer positions at a public interest environmental law firm (the Law Offices of Stephan C. Volker, Oakland, CA), the law firm of Faegre & Benson in Minneapolis, and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy. She was awarded a Judd Fellowship to study international environmental law at Humboldt University in Berlin in Spring 2003. In 2002-03, she joined the staff of the Minnesota Law Review, which published her Note on "NEPA and Scientific Uncertainty: Using the Precautionary Principle to Bridge the Gap" in its April 2003 issue (Volume 87, Number 4). She competed at the 2003 National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition in New York, where her team won Best Brief for Intervenors and she won Best Oralist in the preliminary round. In 2003-04, Ms. Kleiss Boerger served as a Note & Comment Editor for the Minnesota Law Review.

After graduating with both the JD and MS, she worked as a temporary intern for Earthjustice, a non-profit environmental advocacy organization, in Seattle, Washington. She clerked for the Honorable David S. Doty of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota and then clerked for the Honorable Robert R. Beezer of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ms. Kleiss Boerger now works as a Staff Attorney/Graduate Teaching Fellow at the Institute for Public Representation in Washington, DC. Her most recent research focuses on the intersection between law, policy and conservation science. Her article, "The Salmon Hatchery Myth: When Bad Policy Happens to Good Science," was published in the first issue of the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science and Technology.

Thoughts about Joint Degree Program (JDP):

The Joint Degree Program has exposed me to aspects of issues that I never would have discovered on my own. Although I have chosen to focus on environmental law and policy, the myriad of topics that the JPD addresses has served to enhance my understanding of all things environmental. For example, proseminar discussions of eco-sabotage, environmental signaling and genetically modified organisms introduced to me political and ethical concerns of which I was previously unaware.

Most importantly, I have gained the benefit of hearing the opinions and views from other disciplines. Everything from patent law to public health has an interest in most environmental issues. Receiving input from students and experts in those fields, as well as discussing the environmental implications behind .their. issues, enabled heightened awareness on all sides. I believe this dialogue will help me in my future environmental advocacy career.

The JDP has not only helped me academically, but also professionally. I made excellent contacts through the mentor program, most of which led to employment or interning opportunities. The mentors themselves provided me with advice that I follow to this day. I even made valuable contacts at some of the JDP seminars. For example, I met leaders from citizens' groups at an environmental justice speaker event, all of whom were impressed with my joint degree and wanted to collaborate with me in the future.

One of the most exciting characteristics of the JDP is its adaptive quality. The JDP continually evolves in response to the needs and desires of the students. This is vital because the role of scientifically-trained lawyers in society is still new and in its developing stages. I am thrilled to be one of the first to carve out such a niche, and I am grateful that the JDP has given me the inspiration and tools to do so.