Colorado Water Fellows Program
The Colorado Water Fellows Program, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, aims to support Denver Law students' efforts to pursue the practice of water law. It was developed to support students from communities historically underrepresented in the legal profession and those with less familiarity with the legal profession including (but not limited to) students who are ethnically, racially, or socioeconomically underrepresented, non-traditional students, Veterans, LGBTQ+ students, gender-diverse persons, students with disabilities, students from rural areas, and first-generation college students, among others. A collaboration between the Sturm College of Law's Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, our water law curricular and extra-curricular offerings, and the Colorado Water Center’s own Colorado Water Fellows Program at Colorado State University, fellows receive mentorship from water law students and practitioners; and have multiple opportunities to learn, research, travel, and contribute their time and effort to novel water law and policy issues. Fellows receive a stipend for their participation in the program and are eligible to receive funding to conduct research with faculty, practitioners, or a community partner working in issues of water. The program abides by all requirements set by DU's Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX.
Fellows will meet monthly to:
- learn from water law practitioners;
- understand the interdisciplinary nature of the practice from water policy professionals (hydrologists, engineers, etc..);
- receive lectures and workshops from faculty and community experts to identify and convey their knowledge on the variety of issues and challenges of water law;
- have the opportunity to learn from diverse water law practitioners and water professionals about the barriers and opportunities in this area of law.
The 2025 application is now available.
The priority deadline is May 30, with a final deadline of June 27.
All Fall 2025 admitted students are eligible to apply.
The Colorado Water Fellows Program, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, taps into Colorado’s and the University of Denver’s legacy as visionary forward-thinking leaders in creating certainty, equity, and justice in the access, availability and adaptability of water rights. Along with DU’s internationally esteemed Water Law Review, Denver Law’s renowned water and natural resources faculty, and its vast water law alumni network, Colorado Water Fellows join an impactful community working to find new and innovative ways to meet the multiple and often conflicting demands of diverse peoples, places and practices that are deeply reliant on this most precious of natural resources.
Meet the 2024-2025 Fellows
-
Jordan Cruz
Hometown: Pueblo
Undergraduate Degree: Environmental Studies and Spanish at Gonzaga
Interests & Hobbies: Jordan enjoys cooking, baking sourdough, hiking, running, biking, and being with her dogs.
Professional Aspirations: Jordan hopes to someday be involved in litigation and policy work to help balance the needs of communities with less water. Jordan also hopes to use her Spanish degree to work with Spanish-speaking communities.
Interest in Water: Jordan grew up in Pueblo, Colorado, where she has seen first hand the battle that has occurred over the lack of water and how water is erasing many peoples lives.
-
Piper Doering
Hometown: Lyons
Undergraduate Degree: Neuroscience and Speech Learning and Hearing Sciences from CU Boulder. Master's in Speech Pathology and Child Welfare System
Interests & Hobbies: Piper enjoys road biking and pinball.
Professional Aspirations: Piper hopes to advocate for kids to promote equal opportunity to development and access to education and natural resources.
Interest in Water: Piper is from Lyons, Colorado, which is a town that experienced devastating flooding. Piper saw and continues to see the impacts this flood had on the community and how they are recovering from it.
-
Christian Olivencia
Hometown: New York but has been in Colorado for the past 12 years.
Undergraduate Degree: Psychology with a minor in biology at CU Denver. Master's in Business.
Interests & Hobbies: Christian enjoys long distance walks in the evening and traveling.
Professional Aspirations: Christian loves science, especially water science, and is excited to join the legal field to learn more about the various careers available.
Interest in Water: Christian is passionate about water because it is critical to life and wants to help protect it. Christian also hopes to help people through water law because of how critical of a resource it is.
-
Jade Roberts
Hometown: Grew up in Ohio and born in Colorado,
Undergraduate Degree: English with a concentration in creative writing at CSU.
Interests & Hobbies: Jade enjoys finding hiking less-well-known trails and loves camping.
Professional Aspirations: Jade has always been interested in the environment, specifically water law due to its complexity. Jade hopes to someday work in water law, environmental law, or sports law.
Interest in Water: Jade has seen how impactful water vulnerability is to underrepresented communities and wants to learn more to help reduce these impacts. Jade also wants to learn more about water law and help educate other people more about why we need to protect water.
-
Will Sharpe
Hometown: Kansas
Undergraduate Degree: Natural Resources and Tourism at CSU.
Interests & Hobbies: Will enjoys skiing, exploring the outdoors, 14'ers, camping, volleyball, fishing, and rafting.
Professional Aspirations: Will hopes to work in water law after law school and wants to have a positive influence on the environment.
Interest in Water: Will has experienced and seen the vast influences on water and wants to be a positive influence to help protect and conserve water resources. Will loves being outside in the mountains and wetlands and hopes to protect these beautiful places.
How it Works
Fellows will develop individualized plans that will detail curricular and non-curricular course recommendations, clinical opportunities, participation on the Water Law Review, externships as well as internships, and attendance at two water law and policy conferences.
Each fellow will be paired with a peer or recent alumni mentor to help them navigate the unique pathways of learning and becoming part of the water bar.
Each fellow will also have an opportunity to develop their professional portfolio by conducting legal and related research as well as write legal briefs and memoranda in water law issues approved by the Director of the Water Law Program.
Learn More
The Colorado Water Fellows Program, University of Denver Sturm College of Law, is being launched through generous support from the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
Learn more about the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University.
