Ms. Bowman Bowman currently teaches water law, administrative law, natural resources and property at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Her work has been cited in the New York Times, and she is a sought after expert in infrastructure, water, energy and regulation who has been interviewed by PBS, CNN, and Democracy Now.  Ms. Bowman has extensive law and policy experience in local, state and federal government, as well as in the non-profit sector. Ms. Bowman has published widely on infrastructure, telecommunications and regulatory issues. She has consulted for the Kenyan Government, USAID, the United Nations, and the U.S. State Department. Before joining The University of New Mexico, she taught at the University of Tulsa, the American University in Cairo, Egypt during the revolution of 2011, as well as at the University of Mississippi, the University of Arkansas and Kabarak University in Kenya. In 2023, she published a book with Palgrave McMillan Digital Development in East Africa: The Distribution, Diffusion, and Governance of Information Technology.

Ms. Jones draws on extensive environmental compliance and enforcement experience to provide strategic counsel to energy and natural resources clients on environmental litigation and regulatory enforcement matters. Ms. Jones represents energy and natural resources clients in environmental litigation and regulatory compliance matters. She helps clients navigate complex environmental issues ranging from New Mexico water law matters to defending against government enforcement actions and counseling clients on regulatory compliance strategies.

Having served for nearly a decade as a trial attorney with the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, Ms. Jones gained unique insight into federal agency decision-making processes and enforcement priorities. This perspective allows her to anticipate potential regulatory hurdles and develop practical, collaborative approaches that align with clients’ legal requirements and business objectives. Ms. Jones’s experience spans the full spectrum of federal litigation and includes multiple oral arguments and complex e-discovery matters. She has worked on matters affecting the energy sector, including oil and gas operations, mining projects, and infrastructure development. She brings extensive experience negotiating resolutions among diverse stakeholders through consent decrees and settlement agreements.

Ms. Russo Baca is the staff attorney and Ombudsman Program Director at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In both roles that she fulfills, her mission is to support and represent constituents in a fair and unbiased manner. As the Ombudsman Program Director, she guides the activities of the Joe M Stell Ombudsman Program, a statewide program that provides impartial adjudication information and procedural guidance to unrepresented water rights claimants in the State of New Mexico. Ms. Russo Baca also manages the Native American Water Right Settlements E-Repository. She contributes significantly to the Utton Center’s overall mission of providing objective research-based public service to New Mexico’s communities on energy, climate change, ecological conservation, food systems, and international natural resource management issues. Ms. Russo Baca undergraduate degree is in agroecology, and she holds both Indian Law and Natural Resources and Environmental Law Certificates from the UNM School of Law. She has also served on the Tribal Law Journal as a staff member and editor and received the Dean’s Award upon graduation. During the Spring 2024 semester, she taught the inaugural Agricultural Law class at the UNM School of Law. Ms. Russo Baca is currently the Chair of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Board of Directors, holding Position No. 1, At-Large.

Rin Tara began working at the Utton Center as a staff attorney in the fall of 2023. They graduated cum laude from the University of New Mexico School of Law in May 2023, where they earned a certificate in Natural Resources and Environmental Law. Upon graduation, Rin received the Honorable Pete Domenici Award for Environmental Excellence. In addition to their studies, they served as both an editor and a staff member for the Natural Resources Journal and a board member for the Environmental Law Society.

During their time as a law student, Rin worked as a research assistant for the Utton Center, as well as a legal intern in positions with the United States Department of the Interior Solicitor’s Office Water Resources Division, the United States Department of Agriculture Office of General Counsel, and the nonprofit organization, American Rivers. As staff attorney specializing in water policy and governance, Rin is primarily interested in questions of water management in the face of climate change. They have done work in riparian restoration, river connectivity, tribal water sovereignty, climate change adaptation, and water rights. Rin is delighted to continue research on these topics in the service of the state of New Mexico, through the Utton Center.