Dr. Paul R. Williams

Dr. Paul R. Williams holds the Rebecca I. Grazier Professorship in Law and International Relations at American University where he teaches in the School of International Service and at the Washington College of Law. Dr. Williams is also the co-founder of the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG), a pro bono law firm providing legal assistance to states and governments involved in peace negotiations, post-conflict constitution drafting, and the prosecution of war criminals. As a world renowned peace negotiation lawyer, Dr. Williams has assisted over two dozen parties in major international peace negotiations and has advised numerous parties on the drafting and implementation of post-conflict constitutions. Several of Dr. Williams' pro bono government clients throughout the world joined together to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize. More information about Dr. Williams can be found at www.drpaulrwilliams.com.

Tara Naoko Ohrtman

Tara Naoko Ohrtman is a Counsel at the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG), working on matters concerning peace negotiations in Ukraine, Sudan, and Kenya, among other projects. She is a former member of Stanford Law School’s International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic, where she handled matters concerning Indigenous rights, reproductive rights, and the human rights of immigrants on the U.S.-Mexico border. Throughout law school, Tara was heavily involved in the Stanford Human Rights in Trauma Mental Health Program, through which she helped coordinate drafting of a field guide for mental health investigators working with the UN Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh (UNITAD). She previously worked as an Associate for the Washington, D.C. office of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, primarily in corporate investigations and antitrust matters.

Emma Bakkum

Emma Bakkum is a Counsel at the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG), with expertise in transitional justice, human rights, and international accountability. Emma works on projects related to peace negotiations in East Africa and the Middle East, and has managed a project supporting civil society and capacity-building activities in South Sudan.

Prior, she coordinated the International Law Clinic at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), held several research positions at the Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA), and was a legal intern at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). Emma holds an LLM in Law and Politics of International Security from the VU and an LLB from Utrecht University, the Netherlands.

Professor Frederick Lorenz

Professor Frederick Lorenz is Frederick (Rick) Lorenz grew up in New York City and obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Marquette University. He served a full career in the US Marine Corps as a judge advocate, including a tour as an infantry company commander. He obtained an LLM (With Highest Honors) from George Washington University in Land Use Management and Control and practiced environmental and land use law between 1982 and 1991. He was the senior legal advisor for the US military intervention in Somalia in 1992, and returned there as senior legal advisor for the UN evacuation in 1995. In 1996 he served in Bosnia as a senior legal advisor for the NATO implementation force, and went on to teach Political Science at the National Defense University (NDU). He developed and taught the first course in Environmental Security at NDU in 1997. After his retirement from the Marine Corps as a colonel in 1998 he spent a year as a Fulbright Senior Scholar in St Petersburg, Russia, teaching courses in international law, environmental law and US foreign policy. In 2000 he served as a United Nations legal affairs officer in Kosovo, working in the UN Civil Administration. He is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Law School. He is also a senior fellow with the Public International Law and Policy Group, and director of their Water Security Program.