Nathan Bess was a Wilkins Scholar at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He received his law degree from the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida, where he also completed a certificate in Environmental and Land Use Law. While in law school, Mr. Bess served as a Teaching Assistant (Legal Research and Writing, Appellate Advocacy), Election Commissioner, member of the Honor Committee, Moderator and Speakers Chair for the Public Interest Environmental Conference, Local Chair for the Annual Conference of the National Association of Environmental Law Societies, Vice-President of the Environmental and Land Use Law Society, and was a member of Phi Delta Phi, a legal honor society. He was also a member of the American Law and Economics Society. Additionally, Mr. Bess was a founding member of the Florida Journal of Ecology and Environmental Law, for which he served as Articles Editor. Also during law school, Mr. Bess clerked for several law firms practicing class action toxic torts and public interest environmental law. Mr. Bess is a member of the Community Investment Committee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund.