Biography and expertise
Elissa Underwood Marek earned her Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, J.D. from Boston College Law School, and B.A. in the Growth and Structure of Cities, magna cum laude, from Bryn Mawr College.
Prior to joining Texas State in 2022, she worked as a research attorney at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, practiced appellate law in Austin, and clerked for the Supreme Court of Texas.
Her research interests include critical carceral studies, food justice, sustainability law, and social entrepreneurship.
Prior to joining Texas State in 2022, she worked as a research attorney at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, practiced appellate law in Austin, and clerked for the Supreme Court of Texas.
Her research interests include critical carceral studies, food justice, sustainability law, and social entrepreneurship.
Education
Special Professional Degree
JD in Law
Boston College, 2004
Doctorate Degree
PhD in American Studies
University of Texas at Austin, 2017
Bachelor's Degree
BA in Growth and Structure of Cities
Bryn Mawr College, 2001
Teaching Interests
Research Interests
Featured grants
- Marek, Elissa Underwood. Faculty Development Grant - Paper Presentation at the 2025 American Studies Association Annual Meeting, Texas State University. (Funded: October 17, 2025 - Present). Grant.
- Marek, Elissa Underwood (Principal). Just Food: Sustainability, Equity, and Food Justice in Business Law, Research Enhancement Program, Texas State University, $8000. (Funded: July 2025 - August 2025). Grant.
- Marek, Elissa Underwood. Faculty Development Grant - Paper Presentation at the 2025 Joint Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) and the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society (AFHVS), Texas State University. (Submitted: 2024, Funded: 2024 - August 31, 2025). Grant.
- Marek, Elissa Underwood (Principal). Faculty Development Grant - Reframe, Resist, Repeat: A Model for Restorative Practices at Work (Refereed Paper Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association), McCoy College, Texas State University, $2414.06. (Submitted: 2023, Funded: 2023 - 2024). Grant.
- Marek, Elissa Underwood. Faculty Development Grant - Storytelling for Sustainable and Socially Responsible Business: Creating a Podcast, Texas State University, $1453. (Funded: September 2022 - 2023). Grant.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Marek, E. U. (n.d.). Repurposing Prisons & Jails: Sustainable Reclamations of Carceral Space.
- Eljourbagy, J., Marek, E. U., & Todd, J. (2025). Preventing Disaster Through Corporate-Community Agreements. Oregon Law Review, 103.
- Marek, E. U. (2024). Establishing a Right to Food for “Justice”-Impacted People: An Abolitionist Strategy to Build Community, Sustainability, and Small Business in the United States. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 52.2, 339–367.
- Marek, E. U. (2024). “Let Us Work, Man”: Asserting Rights to Employment for Individuals With Conviction Histories in Austin, Texas. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 51, 1065–1094.
- Marek, E. U. (2022). Recipes for Resistance and Abolition: Crafting a Culinary Discourse While Incarcerated. Food and Foodways, 30(1–2), 82–102.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Nancy Kubasek Award for Best Paper on Environmental Law & Sustainability, Academy of Legal Studies in Business. August 9, 2024
- Award / Honor Recipient: Departmental Teaching Award - Highest Teaching Evaluations for Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Department of Finance and Economics. May 2023
- Award / Honor Recipient: Homecoming Professor Outstanding Teaching Award, Southwestern University. 2014
Featured service activities
- Member
Sustainability Studies Faculty Advisory Council
- Chair
ByLaws and Standing Rules Committee of the Becker Elementary School PTA
- Member
Institutional Review Board
- Member
Business Law Curriculum Committee
- Member
Search Committee for Tenure-Line Faculty in Economics
- Officer
Academy of Legal Studies in Business Environmental & Sustainability Section