Biography
Prior to joining Haub Law as the Associate Director of Environmental Law Programs, Professor Vithanage was a Visiting Associate Professor of Law and the first Environmental and Energy Law Fellow with an international law background at the George Washington University Law School. She is an admitted solicitor of the state of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia and immediately prior to joining GW Law, was a merit scholarship recipient at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She was born in Sri Lanka, lived in the United Arab Emirates, practiced as an attorney in Australia, and undertook tertiary studies in Australia, Japan, China, Spain, and the United States, providing her a unique international perspective. Professor Vithanage has also been the Co-Chair of the American Bar Association's Section on Environment energy & Resources' (SEER) International Environmental & Resources Law (IERL) Committee since 2020 and is an originating member of the International Association of Energy Law, a global network of early career energy law professors. Most recently, she was recognized in LawDragon’s 500 Leading Environmental and Energy Lawyers 2021 Guide.
Professor Vithanage graduated summa cum laude from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law's LLM program following completion of her 180 page thesis on ex situ high seas biodiversity conservation under international environmental law. Her article, "A Deep Dive into the High Seas: Harmonizing Regional Frameworks for Marine Protected Areas with the UNCLOS Convention on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas beyond National Jurisdiction," was published by Oxford University Press in 2019 in the Yearbook of International Environmental Law. She co-authored "The Transformation of Environmental Law and Governance: Risk, Innovation and Resilience," in the Edward Elgar publication stemming from the 2018 International Union for Conservation of Nature Academy for Environmental Law Colloquium, with Haub Law's Dean Emeritus Richard Ottinger. She recently published a chapter, which she co-authored with GW Law Associate Dean for Environmental Studies LeRoy Paddock, on "Collaborating with Underserved Communities to Contribute to Decarbonization" in the International Bar Association's section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law Academic Advisory Group's book on energy justice as well as chapter on Sustainable Energy Democracy. She has a forthcoming chapter in a Brill publication on the international legal instrument on biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, a treaty presently being negotiated at the United Nations.
Speaking at
From Classroom to Congress: Engaging Youth in International Environmental Policy-Making
Oct 11 2025 (08:30 - 10:30)
Room: Conference Hall B: Session Room 8