Attorney | Educator | Advocate

Carlson Gray Swafford is an attorney and educator from Nashville, TN.

Carlson grew up studying with his mom, fishing with his dad, jarring peaches with his granny, and picking tomatoes with his pawpaw. He played guitar with his brothers and went to punk rock shows with his sister. He went to Trevecca Nazarene University, playing trumpet and guitar to pay for his B.S. in Music Business. He spent seven years on teaching farms, in food banks, and in intentional community while earning a M.A. in Theological Studies. 

Those early years spent on the land and in community led him to New England in 2017, where he earned a JD/ Masters of Environmental Law & Policy at Vermont Law School. He returned to Tennessee in 2020 during COVID-19, and studied for the bar. He started Eco Demo Law PLLC to focus on environmental action and cooperative development. 

In 2023, his law school mentors invited him back to the Institute for Energy & the Environment for an LL.M./ Teaching Fellowship in energy justice. He completed his LL.M. in Energy Law and Thesis in December 2025. His field studies, volunteering, and work have taken him all across the Southeastern U.S., and to California, Colorado, Louisiana, Canada, Ireland, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Haiti, and the Bahamas. 

His scholarship focuses on the legal mechanics of the just transition, specifically analyzing how democratic corporate governance and decentralized energy resources can build resilient local economies and keep wealth in communities. His work focuses on cooperative and energy policy, strategic advocacy and transactional representation, and popular education to build resilient, community-owned infrastructure. His more recent scholarship and work have focused on constitutional intersections with energy justice. 

Outside of the office, Carlson enjoys playing guitar, reading, swimming, and writing. He and his wife Sandra love watching movies, exploring new restaurants, and cooking for each other. They are also known to be fierce competitors in Pictionary and Boggle. They live with their two dogs––Kobe and Korra––and three roosters––Jet, Lee, and Lou. 

Check out his publications, working papers, and presentations grouped by subject matter in the menu above, and reach out with the contact info below!