Staff

David N. Cassuto – Executive Director

Professor David N. Cassuto is an expert in environmental law specializing in international comparative law, water law, property law and animal law. A former professor of literature specializing in literature and the environment, Professor Cassuto brings an interdisciplinary approach to environmental and international law and policy. He has published a number of path-breaking works in the field of environmental and cultural studies. He speaks frequently on these topics in both North America and South America.

Following  private practice and a clerkship on the Eleventh Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals, Professor Cassuto joined the faculty of Pace Law School. He holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and a Ph.D. from Indiana University.  e-mail

Rômulo Silveira da Rocha Sampaio – Director for International Services

Professor Rômulo S.R. Sampaio is an expert in issues relating to climate change, carbon sequestration and biofuels. He has also published in both Brazil and the United States on issues of international environmental law. Dr. Sampaio’s private law practice experience has focused on consulting with clients with multinational issues and he currently serves on the faculty of FGV Direito Rio law.

He has earned  Bachelors (L.L.B) and Masters  (L.L.M) degrees in Economic and Social Law from the Pontific Catholic University of Parana – School of Law, Brazil as well as a Masters and Doctoral Degree on Juridical Sciences in Environmental Law (S.J.D.), from Pace Law School. e-mail

Joseph Edgar – Program Director

Joseph Edgar is an Associate Energy Consultant at the Pataki-Cahill Group in New York, and is pursuing a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Pace University School of Law and a Masters of Environmental Management (M.E.M.) from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. Joseph also serves as a Climate and Energy Fellow at the Yale Climate and Energy Institute, where he works on carbon capture policy initiatives, post-fossil fuel energy research, and energy efficiency financing. In Brazil, he is consulting FGV Direito Rio in developing a GHG assessment program and is working with the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO) on the development of financial risk models for ecosystem service projects in the Amazon. Previously, Joseph served as the Vice President of Operations at Hydraulitcall, Inc., where he supervised environmental remediation activities commissioned by the Unites States Government. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Heron José de Santana Gordilho – Regional Coordinator

Heron José de Santana Gordilho is a scholar of both animal and environmental law animal law, having published a number of books and articles on both subjects. He earned an S.J.D. by the Federal University of Pernambuco and a post doc by Pace Law School. He is an environmental public prosecutor in Brazil and professor on environmental law at Federal University in State of Bahia and Catholic University. He was founder and first president of Abolitionist Institute for Animals and he founder and editor of the Brazilian Animal Rights Review, the first legal journal about animal rights in Latin America. Additionally, he created the Habeas Corpus on behalf of chimpanzee theory.

Tagore Trajano Regional Coordinator

Tagore Trajano is an expert in issues relating to Brazilian Constitutional and Environmental Law as well as Bioethics, and Animal Law issues. He has published articles in Brazil and the United States on Comparative Law issues. In addition, Professor Trajano is a practicing lawyer in Brazil and President of the Institute for Animal Abolitionist (www.abolicionismoanimal.org.br). 

Professor Trajano received his Postdoctorate in law from Pace Law School and his Ph.D. and Masters in Public Law from the Federal University of Bahia. He has been a Visiting Researcher at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC / China), serves as the Editor of the Brazilian Animal Rights Review (www.animallaw.info#international) and has coordinated several World Conferences on Bioethics and Animal Rights. In addition to teaching postgraduate courses in environmental law at the Federal University of Bahia, Professor Trajano is a founding member of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Derecho Ambiental. View his research on SSRN Author page: http://ssrn.com/author=1855392