Bethany Aragon

Bethany Aragon is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a third-year student in the University of Wyoming’s dual J.D./M.A. program in Environment and Natural Resources. During her 28-year military career, she commanded organizations at every level from company through brigade and led complex operations in joint, interagency, and multinational environments around the world. Her assignments included service at U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Turkey, where she advised military and diplomatic leaders, built consensus among diverse stakeholders, and advanced U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.

 

Bethany’s academic interests center on environmental and natural resource law, with a particular focus on water law, tribal governance, and collaborative approaches to resource management. Her graduate research evaluates nearly forty years of tribal implementation of Treatment as a State (TAS) under the Clean Water Act, examining what that experience reveals about TAS as a mechanism for strengthening tribal governance, environmental regulation, and water management.

 

Originally from Oregon, Bethany has made Wyoming her permanent home and is committed to building a legal career dedicated to the responsible stewardship of the state’s natural resources. Outside the classroom, she is an active member of Albany County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and enjoys exploring Wyoming’s public lands with her dog, Valkyrie.