Madeline Middlebrooks will fight dangerous lead contamination in local schools’ drinking water.
Great Rivers Environmental Law Center is delighted to announce the addition of Madeline Middlebrooks to our legal team in a full-time capacity.
Motivated by the environmental injustices in her grandmother’s North St. Louis community and inspired by the belief that one’s zip code should not determine their access to clean air and water, Madeline decided early to devote her talents to the public good. She left Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, to attend the University of Oregon. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies and minors in both Geography and Nonprofit Management, she pursued the study of law at the University of Denver.
Madeline’s favorite hobbies are hiking and kayaking in the great outdoors. She is pictured here with her fiance’ Greg.
During her time at Denver University, Madeline gained significant real-world experience in public interest law. She interned at Environment Colorado, Earthjustice, Siegal Public Affairs, and the Colorado Supreme Court before joining Great Rivers as an intern for her 2nd and 3rd year summer internships. In her spare time at Denver University, she created the institution’s first-ever multicultural room to allow students from a wide variety of backgrounds to come together and celebrate and learn from each other’s experiences. She also served as an active board member of Denver Law’s Black Law Student Association.
Madeline’s work at Great Rivers will focus on addressing the lead contamination crisis in St. Louis Public Schools. In even small quantities, lead can cause irreversible damage to children’s mental and physical development. It is unconscionable that children who already face difficult backgrounds and struggling school district be harmed with an additional burden of pollution in their bodies.
Great Rivers has worked through the courts since 2002 to ensure that our neighbors have clean air, safe water, and healthy, protected wild lands. We are thrilled to have Madeline join Great Rivers in our work to ensure that all Missourian’s – especially our most vulnerable children – have a legal advocate to defend their environment and health.
When she’s not saving the world, Madeline likes to explore our state parks, play with her corgi Moe Taters and make soups from scratch. She and her fiance’ Greg live in St. Charles, Missouri.
Madeline joins us as an Equal Justice Works Fellow sponsored by Faber Daeufer and Itrato, PC. To learn more about Madeline and her work, you can read a great write-up by Equal Justice Works here.
Great Rivers Environmental Law Center is a Missouri-based public interest law firm that provides free and reduced-fee services to individuals, organizations and citizen groups working to protect the environment and public health. We receive no government funding and rely on donations from the community to sustain our work.