Jessie Gardner - Columbus, GA

Jessie Gardner is originally from San Diego, California, but as a military brat, she has lived in six states and spent her high school years in Germany and South Korea. Jessie received her Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability with a Certificate in Public Law from San Diego State University in 2021. During her time at SDSU, Jessie was an active member of the Empowering Women in Law Society, Pre-Law Society, and her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. She also volunteered for Ecolife Conservation, a San Diego-based nonprofit organization, where she received the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2020. Jessie spent her final year of college working as a pre-law intern for the University of San Diego School of Law’s Energy Policy Initiatives Center, where she analyzed climate action plans and energy policy issues throughout California.

Jessie then attended the University of Oregon School of Law, where she received her J.D. with a Green Business Law Concentration and Pro Bono Honors in 2024. While at UO, Jessie served as Articles Editor for the Journal of Environmental Law and Litigation, an Energy Law and Policy Project Fellow for the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center, Co-Director of Land Air Water, UO’s environmental law student society, and Co-Director of the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference. Jessie also worked as a legal intern for a law firm specializing in property and insurance disputes, then as a Certified Law Clerk for the California Attorney General’s Office in the Criminal Appeals, Writs, and Trials Section, where she successfully argued in the 4th District California Court of Appeal. Jessie began working for The Finley Firm, P.C. as a remote law clerk during her final semester of law school and officially joined the firm in person following her graduation.

Outside of work, Jessie loves to travel and has visited over thirty countries. She also enjoys running, watching Padres baseball, reading fiction books, and spending time with family, friends, and her dog, Zax.