“Marginalized communities have always been viewed as disposable to polluting industries,” Neal says. “Law school is a way for me to help people get access to the levers of power to ensure their voices are heard, their needs are met, and their environments are safe and healthy.”

As a University of Kansas student, Neal worked in the state governor’s legal office helping craft executive orders to solidify that social services would reach Kansans during the COVID-19 pandemic. After graduating, she developed a new perspective on climate during a year volunteering as a U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighter.

Seeing intensifying and lengthening wildfire seasons strain resources and personnel, she heard from seasoned firefighters how increasingly difficult it is for forest management agencies to handle multiple record-breaking fires happening simultaneously.

“This experience reinforced my interest in law as a career because the shape of our energy system and our emergency preparedness and response systems are determined by law and policy,” says Neal, who then spent a year with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency working to make sure polluting sources satisfied clean air requirements. “Berkeley seemed like the obvious law school choice because of its environmental community and public mission, and the chance to do pro bono work right away.”

She externed at Earthjustice last fall, examining the impact of climate change and pollution on food systems while seeking protections for farm workers and limits to pollutants affecting agriculture.

“As someone who grew up in Kansas with most of my family in agriculture, these issues are close to my heart,” says Neal, who returned to Earthjustice last summer. “I was grateful for the opportunity to work toward a food system that’s sustainable and safe for workers and agricultural communities.”

Among her many leadership roles, Neal has been president of Women of Berkeley Law, co-lead of the Berkeley Immigration Group and the Berkeley Law Alternative Service Trip to Alaska, research lead for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and an editor at two journals. Her team also won Best Brief and reached the semifinals of the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition, and she’ll be a student coach for the next Berkeley team.

“Working in a range of positions reflects how I think about the law and environmentalism: Solving environmental and climate issues is an inherently intersectional and interdisciplinary process,” she says. “There are always multiple layers of scientific, socioeconomic, and political dimensions that need to be woven together to ensure a just outcome is reached.” — Andrew Cohen