Andrew (Andy) J. Welch, III, was born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in McDonough. He graduated from Presbyterian College in 1994 where he received a Bachelor of Science with honors in biology. After college, Mr. Welch served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana, West Africa.
In 1997, Mr. Welch entered Vermont Law School. He also held a summer internship with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C. Mr. Welch served as Editor-in-Chief of the school’s online environmental law journal and received academic honors for his performance in the school’s moot court competition. Mr. Welch graduated from Vermont Law School with a Juris Doctor and Masters of Studies in Environmental Law.
After law school, Mr. Welch clerked for the U.S. Magistrate Judges for the Northern District of New York. Thereafter, Mr. Welch practiced with Devorsetz Stinziano Gilberti Heintz & Smith in Syracuse, New York where his practice primarily focused on zoning and land use law.