Elissa Ann Walter

she/her

waltere@berkeley.edu | Linkedin

PhD Student in Jurisprudence and Social Policy

Elissa Walter is a Ph.D. student in Jurisprudence and Social Policy. She researches energy and public utilities law through the lenses of economics, history, and political economy. Currently, she is exploring how different models of infrastructure ownership—and shifts in ownership over time—impact people’s access to affordable, reliable, safe, and clean electricity.

Before beginning her Ph.D., Elissa practiced energy regulatory and appellate law at Munger, Tolles & Olson in Washington, D.C. She also served as a Climate Change Research Fellow at the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment. She clerked for Judge David S. Tatel on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Justice Goodwin H. Liu on the California Supreme Court, and Judge Jon S. Tigar on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Elissa earned her J.D. from Berkeley Law with certificates of specialization in Environmental Law and in Energy and Clean Technology Law. Before attending law school, Elissa served as a Teach For America corps member in Detroit, where she taught eleventh- and twelfth-grade biology, earth science, and physics. She received her M.A. in educational studies from the University of Michigan and received her B.A. in biology and philosophy from Carleton College.