Professor Jackie Peel is a world-leading expert in international climate law and climate litigation. She is a professor of law at Melbourne Law School and was the inaugural Director of Melbourne Climate Futures — the University of Melbourne’s cross-disciplinary climate initiative.

Professor Peel served as a Lead Author on Working Group III of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for its Sixth Assessment Report, directed the Hague Academy of International Law’s first ever climate change course and co-chaired the American Society of International Law’s signature initiative on climate change, amongst other roles.

As the recipient of the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Award in addition to her Laureate fellowship, Professor Peel is committed to mentoring a next generation of climate leaders and scholars in climate litigation, with a focus on female early career researchers from the Global South.

Philippa Garrard has been working at the University of Melbourne since 2012 supporting interdisciplinary research across several schools and faculties. In 2023 she joined Melbourne Climate Futures and worked across projects such as the Indo-Pacific Climate Hub, Australia Awards Fellowships and the COP Universities Alliance. In 2025, she began working on the Laureate Program on Global Corporate Climate Accountability.

Roanna McClelland's doctoral research at Melbourne Law School focused on emerging transnational rights-based approaches to water, climate and the environment. Her research incorporates interdisciplinary and empirical research methods, and spans domestic, international and transnational spheres, the private and public sectors, and explores intersections between areas of law including climate, water, environment, human rights, social movements and corporate accountability. Roanna has taught across the Melbourne Law School Breadth, Masters and JD programs including Principles of Public Law, Property Law, Global Human Rights, Climate Law and Water Law. She holds a Master of Laws (University of Sydney), LLB (Hons) (Adelaide University) and a Bachelor of Behavioral Science (Flinders University). 

Roanna has extensive experience across academia, policy and media, including as policy and media adviser to the Minister for Water and Premier of South Australia, and to former Prime Minister Julia Gillard in her work in global education, mental health and women’s leadership. She is also an award-winning writer of literary fiction and non-fiction. Her debut novel, The Comforting Weight of Water (Wakefield Press, 2023), won the Arts SA Unpublished Manuscript Award in 2022 and was a finalist for Best Science Fiction Novel, 2023 in the Aurealis Awards, Australia’s premier speculative fiction awards.

Suzanne Varrall’s research interests include the interaction of international, transnational and national regulatory frameworks for achieving accountability. Her doctoral research examined the global governance and regulation of corporate involvement in arms transfers through an interdisciplinary lens. In her role with the Laureate Program, she investigates how multiple regulatory regimes interact to influence evolving global standards and practices for corporate climate action.

Suzanne is a qualified solicitor with expertise in international humanitarian law, international criminal law, business and human rights, and arms control. She began her career in government before moving into legal practice and academic roles. Her 20+ years of experience across these sectors, including with the Australian Government in defence and foreign affairs provides her with unique insights into how policy, law, and regulation intersect to address global challenges.

Selena holds a Master of Laws from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the Australian National University.

Most recently, Selena has worked for the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD), focusing on non-CO2 mitigation strategies and human rights and climate change law. Prior to IGSD, Selena was a lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor and Counsel Assisting the Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. She has also been an associate to justices of the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia.

She has previously been affiliated with the Centre on Comparative Constitutional Law (2020-2021) and has taught various courses in law at the University of Melbourne and Australian National University.

Alex Blackborough has completed degrees in environmental science and law with first class honours at Griffith University. He is a lawyer at Equity Generation Lawyers who are leading specialists in Australian climate change and biodiversity law.

Alex previously worked as a legal officer in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water advising on matters of wildlife, heritage and environmental protection.

In 2021 he received the New Colombo Plan Scholarship to study and work in Singapore and Vanuatu to compare developed and developing nation state approaches to climate change. Alex worked on climate policy with the Vanuatu Climate Action Network and on projects in the maritime industry with Singapore’s Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation.

In 2023 Alex was named a Global Voices Fellow and attended COP28 in Dubai where he subsequently published a paper on the equitable inclusion of Pacific Islander and First Nations Voices for improved climate policy in Australia.

Alex works on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.

Rebekkah (Bek) is a Research Fellow for Melbourne Climate Futures. She has a particular interest in environmental and climate change law, and has worked with Professor Jacqueline Peel at Melbourne Law School on a number of projects including: devising a legal blueprint for corporate energy transition, strategic climate change litigation, and legal frameworks for waste management in the Pacific and in times of pandemic. Previously, Bek spent a year teaching English in Japan and spent 18 months as an associate to a judge at the Federal Court of Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts/Laws (Hons) from the University of Queensland.

Zoe Nay is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. Zoe’s primary research interests are international climate change law, human rights law, oceans governance, and socio-legal studies. In her doctoral research, Zoe examines regime interactions in climate change loss and damage governance, with a focus on sea level rise in Pacific Island countries.

Zoe is also a Research Associate with Queensland’s University of Technology (QUT). At QUT, Zoe is working with the Australian Research Council Special Initiative on Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future, where her research focuses on interdisciplinary research to strengthen Antarctic science, policy, and governance at a time of rapid environmental and geopolitical change.

Beyond the academic context, Zoe works with World Youth for Climate Justice in their global campaign to seek an Advisory Opinion from International Court of Justice in relation to climate change and human rights.

Astrid is a PhD candidate at Melbourne Law School and is a member of the Centre for Resources, Energy and Environmental Law and the Melbourne Climate Futures Academy (MCFA).

Astrid specializes in the intersection of international climate law, human rights, and environmental law, with a focus on the Global South. She has worked with local communities and Indigenous peoples on numerous occasions. Astrid has provided support to organizations in Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the US, including WRI, OXFAM, UNICEF, Brighter Green, and Global Forest Coalition. She has led international campaigns for climate justice and against unsustainable livestock farming, advocating strongly before national and international decision-makers. Astrid is deeply committed to advancing Just Transition, diversity, equity, and inclusion. She continues influencing global climate policy and protecting community rights through strategic advocacy and consultancy work.

Astrid holds an LL.M. from Penn State University (on scholarship), a master’s in environmental law from the Complutense University of Madrid, and specialisations in human rights and critical legal studies (from CLACSO and ELAP).

Monica Iyer is an assistant professor of law at the Georgia State University College of Law. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of climate change, the environment and human rights, particularly focusing on migration and racial and gender justice.

Before joining the College of Law, Professor Iyer was a senior lecturing fellow in the International Human Rights Clinic at Duke University School of Law. Before joining academia, she worked for the United Nations, government, and civil society organizations on human rights issues, including the environment and climate change; migration; women’s rights and gender equality; human rights and international development; and racial justice.

Monica received her J.D. from the New York University School of Law, a master's degree in international cooperation and development from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago.