Environmental lawyer David Zayas (RM ’04), a native of Bellows Falls, Vermont, is now Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs and Technical Services at the National Hydropower Association in Washington, DC. He arrived at his law career by way of a non-traditional path filled with pertinent jobs, travels, and explorations.

As an undeclared major in the Rubenstein School, he contemplated a major in geology after studying the topic during a month-long backpacking trip around Colorado; worked for a semester in Orlando, Florida in the Walt Disney World College Program; and studied aboriginal culture and explored coral reefs during a semester abroad at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia.

He eventually chose recreation management as his major and acknowledges Professor Robert Manning and Senior Lecturer David Kaufman for their lasting influence. “Bob’s courses exposed me to and helped me understand and appreciate environmental philosophy and early environmental movement issues,” he shares. “Dave’s focus on the private side and business aspects of outdoor recreation provided an important balance to the overall Rubenstein School curriculum.”

After graduating, Dave spent some summers working in Burlington and winters traveling and skiing the West. He signed on with Will Raap, Rubenstein School Board of Advisors member and owner of Gardener’s Supply, to assist with a Rubenstein School winter break travel course, focused on watershed restoration in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.  Dave traveled ahead to handle logistics and research data on the watershed in preparation for the class.

These combined experiences pointed him toward a career in environmental law. Once at Vermont Law School, he focused on water law and then took up energy and climate change law and graduated in 2010 with a J.D. and a Master’s in Environmental Law and Policy.

Throughout law school, his job experiences were many and mixed, but they all related to his interests in the nexus between water, energy, and climate change. He interned at the Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation, Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, and TransCanada and worked as a research associate at Vermont Law School’s Environmental Tax Policy Institute and as a clinician at the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic.

Following law school, he accepted a clerkship on the Senate Judiciary Committee under Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT).  After his clerkship, Dave was Director of Government Relations for the American Hiking Society, a national conservation and recreation organization. This job, in particular, directly related to his experience and education at UVM and the Rubenstein School.

In late 2011, he began working at the National Hydropower Association (NHA), a national association dedicated to promoting the growth of clean, affordable U.S. hydropower. NHA seeks to secure hydropower’s place as a climate-friendly, renewable, and reliable energy source that serves national environmental, energy, and economic policy objectives.

“Much of what I learned at UVM was applicable and relevant throughout law school and carries through in my current position at NHA,” notes Dave. “Not only was it a springboard, but my recreation management degree and experience at UVM gave me a strong foundation and the tools to succeed in the future. A lot of the Rubenstein School’s core curriculum related to federal agencies and administrative process, and obviously science, ecology, and natural resources. I work in these areas every single day.”

Dave is responsible for managing NHA’s Regulatory Affairs Committee, Small Hydro Council, Hydraulic Power Committee, and the Operational Excellence (OpEx) program – hydroexcellence.org. He represents NHA before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the federal land-management agencies (Fish & Wildlife Service, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, Forest Service, National Park Service, and others), the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, NGOs, and national coalitions, among others.

“I work with a great staff at NHA and have developed wonderful relationships with our member companies; I get to visit and tour hydropower facilities located in some very remote and beautiful places around the country,” Dave explains. “Hydropower is a renewable resource and my work contributes to a clean and low-carbon future; but the infrastructure also provides many societal benefits — flood control, irrigation, water storage, and recreation.  It’s rewarding to know that my work also contributes to providing these benefits.”

Dave, his wife Stephanie, and their 11-month-old son, Pierce, live in Maryland near DC. Dave enjoys hiking, mountain biking, fishing, and skiing, landscaping and gardening. He and Stephanie take advantage of the Chesapeake Bay and are teaching Pierce to love the outdoors. Dave also serves on the UVM Alumni Association Washington, DC Regional Board, which provides a network for UVM alumni and newly admitted students in the DC area.