"For students to thrive in law, they must find not only competence, but conviction. I believe we must guide them to discover what truly moves them, so their careers reflect not just ability, but purpose. When purpose and profession align, success becomes not only possible, but deeply fulfilling."
Professor Pappalardo is an Assistant Professor at Widener University Commonwealth Law School, where she teaches Property, Energy Law, and Climate Change Law, and co-directs the Center for Environmental Law and Sustainability. Her scholarship examines the intersection of property rights, energy law, climate governance, and democratic institutions, with a particular focus on the legal and institutional dimensions of the energy transition. Her work has appeared in the Georgetown Environmental Law Review and the Michigan Journal of Environmental and Administrative Law, as well as in edited volumes published by the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law Series, the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, and the Routledge Studies on the Governance of Sustainability in Europe.
Professor Pappalardo earned her law degree from the University of Rome La Sapienza, where she wrote her thesis on cultural property law, and subsequently completed a master's degree in the Governance and Management of Cultural Heritage at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Her interdisciplinary background informs a research agenda that explores how legal institutions, property regimes, and public governance shape sustainable development and climate action across domestic and international contexts.
Before pursuing graduate legal studies in the United States, she practiced law in Italy, representing individual and corporate clients in civil and administrative matters. She also served in the Office of the General Counsel at the Italian Ministry of Culture, where she worked on the protection of culturally significant sites and artifacts, and was a foreign legal associate in the Corporate and Securities Practice at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP in Washington, D.C.
While pursuing her S.J.D. at Georgetown University Law Center, Professor Pappalardo worked with the Georgetown Climate Center on state and federal climate mitigation initiatives, co-led the Energy Democracy Project within the State and Local Government Program, and served as an International Economic Law Fellow at the Institute of International Economic Law. Before joining Georgetown, she was a Visiting Research Scholar and Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law, where she taught International Energy Law and International Trade Policy, coached students in Space Law, International Environmental Law, and European Law moot court competitions, and mentored students through a variety of academic programs.
Beyond academia, Professor Pappalardo has contributed to international environmental and climate policy through collaborations with organizations including the World Bank and the Environmental Law Institute. She is fluent in Italian, Spanish, and French and remains actively engaged with international legal communities. She enjoys helping students explore the many professional opportunities that a legal education can provide.
