Colorado Law

Faces of Community-Engaged Scholarship: Gregor MacGregor

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 19:30:05 +0000

Faces of Community-Engaged Scholarship: Gregor MacGregor Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 11/19/2025 - 12:30

Members of the Santistevan Ditch and students work to repair a headgate on the Purgatoire River outside of Trinidad.

Gretchen Minekime

Gregor MacGregor gets bored if he sits behind a desk for too long. His energy seems boundless. That’s key because MacGregor’s interests are vast, and his personal ethos about service transcends the personal and professional.

When were you introduced to the practice of community-engaged scholarship?

I came to Colorado Law—supported by the Army—knowing I wanted to work with water law and farmers. At orientation, I learned about the Acequia Assistance Project, which was directed then by Professor Sarah Krakoff. I volunteered with the project during my first year, and in my second year I became the project's student leader. This was my introduction to engaged scholarship. I was hooked.

You were involved in the Acequia Assistance Project for a long time. What was your work and what was its influence on you?

Law students in the Acequia Project provide pro bono legal services to farmers and landowners in rural Colorado regarding their land and water rights. As a student, I provided approximately 700 hours of service in the San Luis Valley—learning about the law and making connections which I still have today.

One of my cases, which lasted the entirety of law school, was a title search and review for approximately 30 properties on the Montez Ditch in the town of San Luis. We completed our title opinion and showed that our clients owned those water rights and could move ahead with ditch improvements to use the water and beautify downtown. My proudest moment during law school was when our client shook my hand and told me that the work would not have been done without our help. They couldn’t afford to hire attorneys. I saw an impact on real lives, and I’ve been chasing that high ever since.

What came after graduating from Colorado Law?

My time in school influenced my decision to go into water law. I finished my service in the Army as Fort Carson’s water attorney in Colorado Springs, before joining a private firm for about a year. This was during COVID, and my wife was the communications director for a hospital. So, I needed lots of flexibility to care for our young daughters. I ended up leaving the firm, but I volunteered with the Colorado Supreme Court to keep up my chops. Then, Professor Krakoff moved to the Department of the Interior and asked me to come back to Colorado Law to teach and direct the Acequia Project. I deferred a clerkship with the Colorado Supreme Court in Justice Hart’s chambers and came back to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.

In 2022, in its 10th year, the Project received the American Bar Association’s Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy. The same year, I expanded my role with the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES). I had previously been a grant recipient, but I wanted to learn more about setting up engaged scholarship opportunities. I joined the grants selection committee, and I was selected for the inaugural Community Perspectives faculty cohort. Being part of both exposed me to ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� breadth of expertise and resources. Community Perspectives helped me learn about initiating relationships with community partners, and the program’s focus was Southeast Colorado—a potential new area for my water work and, coincidentally, where I have extended family. I managed to join the second cohort as an alumnus—both continuing my own learning and sharing my experience with the new folks.

What is your current portfolio of engaged scholarship projects?

I now lead the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Specialization in the Masters of the Environment Graduate Program. Among my duties, I advise 50 students in the specialization and directly advise three capstone project teams—most of which are rooted in community engagement. Some of the capstone projects have also received PACES grants.

I also sit on the Water Court Committee of the Colorado Supreme Court, and I just finished a video series featuring each of the water court officials for self-represented litigants. The videos are intended to guide people who need to go through the water court process but who can’t afford legal representation.

And, I’ve doubled down on serving with PACES and expanding engaged scholarship on campus.

Tell us about your new roles with PACES and your goals.

So, I’ve been involved with PACES one way or another since 2016. With Community Perspectives evolving into a direct-funding program, I want to help develop relationships around the state, assist community partners with outlining potential projects, and to identify CU colleagues who can work on those projects. As a faculty fellow for rural community-engaged scholarship, I’ll be connecting people and teaching—my favorite kind of role.

This semester I began serving as the chair of the PACES grants committee. The PACES staff runs a tight ship so our faculty members on the committee can focus on bringing the university’s resources into the community. I want our committee’s members to point people to PACES for support of continuing work or new work because communities, faculty members and students all benefit from working together. Really, to me, the big opportunity is educating students about how community engagement can be a part of their career or simply bringing the value of service forward in their lives.

Why are you dedicated to engaged scholarship?

Gregor and another foreign volunteer portion and shape some of the 1200 rolls provided daily by Hell’s Kitchen.

It comes down to serving. It’s why I joined the military. The idea of having resources and knowledge that I can apply directly to impact the lives of others feels like a call to action. That’s not always the case in academia; the impact is often more indirect. But, when you work in a community that needs something, you see the immediate impact for people. It’s what I’m driven to do.

An Army buddy and I went to Ukraine in 2024 with a food aid organization—a continuation of volunteer work I do here in Colorado. I saw how the money we raised stretched to feed people and replace broken kitchen equipment. We delivered food, medicine, clothes and other supplies to villages outside of Kharkiv that, due to the war, were more isolated and impoverished than before. Even a small amount of work can go a long way.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� has resources, expertise and students who are willing and able. We can help activate them to a good end, which is what real service is. When I look at the history and mission of CU Bolder, service has to be part of that mission. We are rooted in a place. We can apply our skills and resources to improve our state. It’s a major component of what higher education should and can be.

Parting thoughts?

I hope people will think about how they can contribute to public and community-engaged scholarship. We get wrapped up in other aspects of our jobs, and it can be difficult to see how our expertise can be applied, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. I hope my work already illustrates how it can happen and why it matters. We can make a big difference person-by-person and community-by-community; it’s not always about changing how the world works.

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Members of the Santistevan Ditch and students work to repair a headgate on the Purgatoire River outside of Trinidad.

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Members of the Santistevan Ditch and students work to repair a headgate on the Purgatoire River outside of Trinidad.

How Law Students Are Keeping a Historic Water Distribution Tradition Alive in Southern Colorado

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 20:11:31 +0000

How Law Students Are Keeping a Historic Water Distribution Tradition Alive in Southern Colorado Arielle Wiedenbeck Thu, 04/04/2024 - 14:11

Sarah Kuta

For the past decade, Colorado Law students have supported the legal needs of these communities through the Acequia Assistance Project. The initiative is a collaboration between ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment with Colorado Open Lands, the Sangre de Cristo Acequia Association and several law firms in the state.

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Empowering Native Voices: The Natives Vote Initiative

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 19:32:54 +0000

Empowering Native Voices: The Natives Vote Initiative Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 11/29/2023 - 12:32

Emiliano Salazar (’23), Spencer Garcia (’24) and Kelsea Suarez (’23) stand in front of a voting location at the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota.

Gabby McConnell

In 2018, a change in North Dakota’s voter ID requirements posed a potential threat to the voting rights of tribal members. In response, the Natives Vote team, a collaborative effort including the American Indian Law Clinic at Colorado Law, First Peoples Worldwide, IllumiNative and Native Organizers Alliance, was launched to address the unique challenges faced by Native communities in exercising their right to vote. Funding from these partners and the Office for Outreach and Engagement makes this program’s initiatives possible. The American Indian Law Clinic’s work has two focuses: one being a website to educate potential votes, the second being an onsite presence to intervene when elections are not being run properly.

Christina Stanton, director of American Indian Law Clinic, inherited work on the Native Voter Education project from the previous director, Carla Fredericks, integrating their knowledge of Indian Country and United States voting laws. The opportunity for Frederick to pass the baton to Stanton emphasizes the importance of working in coalition, motivating both parties to succeed and continue their work with Native communities.

“There were a bunch of resources for people to gain literacy about how to get to the polls and what the voting requirements were for each state. None were targeted specifically for Native voters,” said Stanton.

The goal of the Natives Vote team was to come together as organizations familiar with Indian Country and to develop a specific product for Native voters to help get out their vote and amplify their voices. First Peoples Worldwide, IllumiNative and Native Organizers Alliance worked with the American Indian Law Clinic to develop the Natives Vote website ensuring that casting a vote can be simple.

The Natives Vote website offers assistance with registration, mail-in ballot information and clarifies the proper identification to bring to the polls. The website shares the laws of each state, which requires extensive research because the laws are constantly changing. The clinic begins updating the website with law changes and other relevant information in early fall and continues through election day. The work of the initiative’s partners is a continual process of making sure everything is up-to-date while assessing the needs of voters. Many states are adapting and giving voters options for how to cast their ballots. Although every state has absentee voting, there are still obstacles in certain states that may prevent one from voting at the polls. For example, voting in person means facing long lines, limited poll locations, specific identification requirements and inadequate poll-worker training.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� staff and law students also worked alongside coalitions to conduct assessments through poll observations on and around different reservations. The needs of every state are captured on the website, but poll observations are conducted primarily in states where the need is most significant. Doing so ensures that people living in areas with restrictive voting laws and practices can vote.

“Giving people access to the ballot box is critical for any election,” said Stanton, “We want everyone to be able to have a voice in this democracy. Being able to go somewhere, have no barriers and have your tribal ID accepted is so important.”

Emiliano Salazar (’23), Spencer Garcia (’24) and Kelsea Suarez (’23) stand in front of a voting location at the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota.

In 2022 Stanton traveled to North Dakota alongside some of her students from Colorado Law. North Dakota does not require voter registration, and any resident should be able to vote with proper documentation. Poll workers do not always apply the law accurately. Colorado Law students observed workers using unnecessary lists to identify someone’s name and address. The practice of using certain lists, such as 911 records, confuses potential voters and causes people to walk away. Election observations and real-time interventions help prevent such scenarios and ensure that casting a vote can be simple for tribal members.

The Natives Vote initiative stands as a demonstration of the power that collaborative effort holds in promoting democracy and inclusivity. By addressing specific voting issues, providing accessible information and fostering indigenous-led advocacy, this initiative strives to ensure that every Native American has the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. You can learn more about American Indian Law Clinic: Native Voter Education or contact the director, Christina Stanton.

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Emiliano Salazar (’23), Spencer Garcia (’24) and Kelsea Suarez (’23) stand in front of a voting location at the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota.

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The 2023 Trinidad Water Festival & the Acequia Assistance Project

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 21:41:24 +0000

The 2023 Trinidad Water Festival & the Acequia Assistance Project Arielle Wiedenbeck Thu, 08/03/2023 - 15:41

Gretchen Minekime

University of Colorado Law School students Oliver Skelly and Ellen Beckert represented the Acequia Assistance Project* at the 2023 Trinidad Water Festival. Below is a Q & A with Skelly and Beckert.

How would you describe the water festival?

Beckert: I would describe the Trinidad Water Festival as a place for students to realize just how central water is to so many facets of their lives. Through play, learning, and imagination, students are inspired to think critically about the ways in which we manage our water resources.

Who puts on the festival?

Skelly: The Water Festival is put on by a group of community partners in the Trinidad area. Tom and Linda Perry, members of the planning committee, invited us on and led a lot of the organization. They were also assisted by Colorado State University, Trinidad Youth Club, Purgatoire Watershed Partnership, and Trinidad State College, who hosted the event. Come showtime, there is a HUGE range of organizations represented at the festival, from the local fire department to Trout Unlimited to the Bureau of Land Management, to name just a few.

What do you think the pay-off of the festival is for the community members there?
Beckert: Community members receive an entire day of celebration with good food and great conversation. Ideas are shared and new connections are made.

What does ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� get from participating?

Beckert: The Acequia Assistance Project and the University of Colorado Law School now have more name recognition in the Trinidad area, which is a central goal of our outreach efforts. For our booth in particular, we made some inroads with both the students, teachers, and local community members and organizations of Trinidad and the surrounding area. We should be able to leverage this into new and exciting partnership opportunities to come. Moreover, students who attended our booth are hopefully inspired to learn more about acequias. This was especially rewarding seeing as many of the students came up from New Mexico, a place with a thriving acequia community.

How did you get involved?

Skelly: I came to CU Law in no small part thanks to the Acequia Project. I am very interested in Western water law and thought taking on a leadership role at the Project would be a great way to learn more while also giving back.

Tell me your favorite story from the day?

Skelly: It’s more so a general sentiment, but I really liked how every student group realized the immense tradeoffs between the prior appropriation doctrine and the acequia system of water sharing. Without explicitly saying “high transaction costs,” students were able to identify how much more work the acequia system required, while also acknowledging the more equitable outcomes.

What’s going to happen between now and the next festival?

Beckert: Next year’s representatives from the Acequia Assistance Project are going to come up with an even more entertaining slideshow. It was hard to compete with the slip-and-slide going on outside!

* The word acequia means “water bearer” in Arabic. An acequia is both a physical irrigation system (a ditch) and a philosophical approach to water management. In Colorado, acequias exist in Costilla, Conejos, Huerfano, and Las Animas counties. As water becomes scarcer, acequias offer a powerful model of alternative water administration and use. To maintain their viability, the acequia community must first address some key challenges. For example, acequias have operated informally for generations thus many remain unincorporated and without bylaws. With the guidance of faculty and numerous pro bono lawyers, University of Colorado Boulder law students help address these challenges. Learn more

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