Description
Jeff Sebo (Associate Professor, Environmental Studies) is seeking a Research Assistant (RAs) to contribute to a new book project. The book, provisionally titled The Local Animal: Why Cities Matter—and What They Can Do—for Farmed and Wild Animals, is being co-authored with Adalene Minelli (NYU) and Alisa White (Stanford) for an academic trade audience. It examines how cities and other local governments can improve outcomes for farmed and wild animals through food, infrastructure, conflict management, and disaster preparedness policies.
About the Project and Role
Cities and other local actors increasingly shape the lives of farmed and wild animals, yet their potential to improve animal welfare remains largely untapped. Farmed and wild animals are among the largest, most impacted, and most neglected stakeholders for health and environmental policies, and cities are well-positioned to support them as policy innovators, incubators, and influencers.
This academic trade book will show how cities have and can become policy leaders for farmed and wild animals, developing a clear theory of change grounded in One Health and One Welfare frameworks. It bridges animal ethics, health ethics, environmental ethics, and urban policy to show how cities can build communities where humans and animals can thrive together.
The book builds on a series of policy reports the authors have produced through the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law and the NYU Center for Environmental and Animal Protection, including Towards Plant-Forward Diets: A Toolkit for Local Policymakers (2021), Wild Animal Welfare in Local Policies on Land Use and the Built Environment (2024), and a forthcoming policy brief on interspecies conflict. Translating these reports into a unified book requires updating and expansion of the underlying legal and policy analysis.
The authors aim to complete a full book draft by late 2026 and a final draft by mid 2027. Research assistants will support the production of the first draft over the summer.
Contact Audrey Becker (audrey.lynn.becker@nyu.edu) with any questions.
Research Assistant Responsibilities
- Assist in updating prior legal and policy analysis in prior reports, including developments in federal preemption (FMIA, PPIA, NLEA), Dormant Commerce Clause doctrine (including National Pork Producers Council v. Ross), First Amendment compelled commercial speech, SEC climate disclosure rules, and state preemption of local food and agriculture regulation
- Survey and catalogue local ordinances and policies relevant to the book’s chapters
- Research doctrinal questions for new chapters not fully developed in the prior reports, including municipal authority to integrate animal welfare into environmental review and disaster preparedness law for animals
- Pull and verify primary sources (statutes, ordinances, regulations, cases) and prepare pinpoint citations and properly formatted references for legal claims throughout the manuscript
- Fact-check substantive legal and policy claims in chapter drafts, and proofread for clarity and consistency
- Assist with other tasks as needed, such as compiling case studies, organizing source material, and preparing figures or tables
Minimum Qualifications/Skills
- Must be a currently enrolled NYU Law student (2L, 3L, LLM preferred)
- Strong legal research and writing skills
- Familiarity with legal research databases (Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Law)
Preferred Qualifications/Skills
- Coursework or experience in environmental law, administrative law, local government law, food law, or animal law
- Interest in animal welfare, public health, urban policy, and/or sustainability
Schedule
- Approximately 15 hours per week (June, July, and August 2026)
- Flexible working hours
- Possibility of re-hiring in the fall pending budget and the state of the project
Salary Range
$30/hr–$30/hr (min-max)
Evaluations
Performance evaluation will take place at the end of the project.
Start Date
June 1, 2026
Location
Remote, with periodic on-site or remote meetings with the authors or a researcher from the Center for Environmental and Animal Protection.
Application Instructions
To express interest, please email the following materials in a single pdf to Audrey Becker (audrey.lynn.becker@nyu.edu), with the subject line “RA Application – Book Project”:
- Your CV
- A short statement about your interest in the topic and your experience with research and writing
- Current transcript (unofficial is fine)
- A writing sample
In compliance with NYC’s Pay Transparency Law, the hourly base salary at NYU Law School for student employment positions is $17 per hour for undergraduate and graduate students.
Federal Work Study is not required for this role, unless specifically stated within the job description. If you are eligible to receive Federal Work Study funds, your eligibility status will be disclosed to the hiring manager to ensure proper processing if hired.