A member of the Washington, D.C. bar, Lisa’s academic background has focused on marine conservation, marine fisheries and Law of the Sea. Her doctoral research investigates legal approval processes for marine activities and their relationship with community involvement and project acceptance. It considers whether embedding community engagement into legal approval processes for marine projects reduces conflict and allows development of positive social license. She ultimately seeks to develop mechanisms by which to incorporate elements of the free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) framework into marine legal approval processes. This involves challenging new requirements for determining who constitutes the ‘affected community’, whose values are important, and what provides legal basis for their FPIC rights.