Ashlynn Kendzior

Environmental advocacy is part of my journey as a Minnesota lawyer, but its origins are in a third- and fourth-grade classroom in suburban Illinois. Thanks to our dedicated teacher, our class had special lessons on conservation, held an educational fair to teach people about ways to save energy in their homes, and traveled to Washington D.C. to meet with fellow student advocates. I vividly remember learning about what steps I could take to help preserve our natural resources and the excitement of sharing these tools with loved ones.

Professionally, I come to environmental advocacy from a human rights background. I still love sharing facts about the climate crisis and what we can all do to help, but my views have evolved to see living in a healthy environment as a human right. Climate change impacts a host of rights – the right to life, right to health, and freedom from discrimination central among them – and has a disparate impact on indigenous communities and people of color. I’m passionate about leveraging creative mechanisms to hold polluters accountable and make the right to a healthy environment a reality for my community.

Ashlynn Kendzior (she/her) graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish Studies. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, with a concentration in Human Rights Law from the University of Minnesota Law School and an LL.M. in Advocacy with distinction from Georgetown Law. Before joining MCEA, Ashlynn served as a supervising attorney and teaching fellow at Georgetown Law, where she worked with domestic and international partners and co-taught experiential courses in international human rights law and advocacy. She previously held fellowships with local human rights organizations and clerked in Hennepin County District Court.