Sorenson ’01 Receives ABA’s Distinguished Environmental Advocates Award

Jennifer Sorenson ’01 is one of only three women from the Natural Resources Defense Council’s San Francisco office to be recognized as a “rising star.” In an NRDC press release, the women were lauded as “represent[ing] the next generation of the Bay Area’s environmental movement, seeking innovative new solutions to the world’s greatest environmental and health challenges.” Sorenson was one of 12 lawyers to receive a Distinguished Environmental Advocates Award at the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) at their annual spring conference in March.

Sorenson serves as chief litigator in a case challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s refusal to ban the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in livestock feed, although this same practice has been proven to diminish the effectiveness of some antibiotics in treating infections in human patients. Last year, the federal district court ruled in favor of NRDC and the other citizen group plaintiffs in two major decisions; the case is now up on appeal in the Second Circuit.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized by the ABA’s Environment Section,” Sorenson said in the NRDC release. “The award is a testament to the strength and vision of NRDC’s Litigation Team, which gives junior attorneys the training they need to bring cases that can make a real difference in people’s lives.”

Previously, Sorenson worked on an environmental justice case in Dickson County, Tenn., which settled with an agreement by the government to place lower-income rural communities on public water, because their well-water had been contaminated by chemicals leaching from an unregulated landfill.