Helen Holden Slottje is the founder of the Regenerative Law Institute (RLI), a social action and advocacy organization dedicated to co-creating a just, inclusive world where everyone can flourish. A Harvard-educated attorney and Goldman Environmental Prize recipient (the ‘Green Nobel'), Helen is celebrated for her pioneering legal strategies, which helped achieve the once deemed impossible statewide ban on fracking in New York.
Pioneering Real-World Transformations
From her time as a “Big Law” lawyer to guiding innovative entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and women-led ventures, Helen's passion lies in harnessing intense pressure as a spark for quantum leaps in social and environmental impact. Rather than settling for superficial “sustainability tweaks,” she helps expand coherence by aligning organizational goals with nature's deeper patterns—fostering breakthrough ideas that transcend the same old constraints.
Acclaimed Leadership & Advocacy
Helen's “David vs. Goliath” fracking victory earned widespread acclaim. In April 2014, she was invited to the Obama White House to meet with senior officials from the Department of State and the EPA. She was awarded Goldman Environmental Prize in a San Francisco ceremony moderated by Soledad O'Brien, featuring Bonnie Raitt and Graham Nash. Robert Redford narrated a PBS documentary featuring her work. That same year, she received the Pete Seeger Activist Award and an “Outstanding Citizen Citation” from the New York State Assembly. The College of the Holy Cross honored her as a “Difference Maker” on its 175th anniversary—an accolade bestowed on just thirty-nine alumni in the college's history.
Since 2014, Helen has been a keynote speaker and expert panelist at premier environmental conferences, global forums, and university summits. Highlights include speaking for the Berkeley Forum, the UN NGO Committee on Sustainable Development, Columbia University's Global Health and Justice Governance Program (convened by Chelsea Clinton), and the Nordic Green Left Climate Conference at the European Parliament. She also delivered a TEDxWWF talk in Brussels, Belgium on the “Shale Gas Revolution” and its implications.
Beyond “Small Fixes”
Helen's core conviction is that true solutions emerge when we transform pressure into opportunity, nurture coherence over control, draw on nature's living patterns, and seize quantum leaps that defy the limits of traditional thinking. Through RLI, she collaborates with clients seeking not just to patch broken systems, but to ignite genuine reinvention.
Note: RLI is a social action and advocacy organization, not a law firm. Helen provides legal services exclusively through Slottje Law, PLLC, and only under the terms of a written engagement letter. She is admitted to practice in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York, and does not render legal advice on behalf of RLI.