Hannah S. Richerson serves as Clean Wisconsin’s Clean Water Program Manager. In this position, she is responsible for managing the organization’s critical work addressing emerging ground- and surface-water contaminants—especially per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), microplastics, and other emerging contaminants—as well as pollutants such as lead and nitrates.
Hannah’s background is interdisciplinary and justice-focused. She holds a B.S. in Biology, M.A. in Environmental Studies, J.D. with an emphasis in environmental law, and is a current dissertator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pursing a Ph.D. in Environment and Resources with a doctoral minor in molecular and environmental toxicology. Her research in Professor Matthew Ginder-Vogel’s Environmental Biogeochemistry Group examines the environmental justice implications of prison siting and operation on incarcerated individuals and surrounding communities, both human and non-human. Likewise, professionally, she has served as a Regulatory Project Manager and Park Ranger with the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Minnesota and Missouri, respectively; a Soil Conservationist with United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service in the Mississippi Delta; a Conservation Program Coordinator with the Adams County, Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Department; and held internships and clerkships with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Protection Division, Wisconsin’s Midwest Environmental Advocates, and the national Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Litigation Team.
Hannah’s favorite things to do outdoors in Wisconsin with friends and family include managing her farmed animal rescue in Central Wisconsin, kayaking the Fox River, swimming in Lake Superior, hiking and biking in the Northwoods, relaxing on restaurant patios in Milwaukee and Madison, and wildlife photography throughout the state.