Rachel Conrad

U.S. Legal Fellow

Rachel Conrad first joined EarthRights as a U.S. Legal Intern in 2023. She returned in 2024 to work with our Amazon office on a case to support the Wampis indigenous nations’ struggle to protect the Santiago (Kanús) River. As a U.S. Legal Fellow, she is now working to hold oil and gas companies accountable for plugging thousands of inactive wells that are emitting methane and contaminating soil and water. She is also supporting our work to hold the IFC accountable for funding socially and environmentally harmful projects.

Prior to law school, Rachel studied the impacts of the Hidrotambo hydroelectric dam on communities in the Dulcepamba watershed in Ecuador on a U.S. Fulbright Scholarship. Building on her research, Rachel founded the Ecuadorian non-profit, Proyecto Dulcepamba, where she led successful efforts to hold Hidrotambo accountable for violations of human and Nature’s rights, and to secure water rights for thousands of campesino and indigenous farmers.

During law school, Rachel worked for the Dulcepamba Project and the Zipin Amster and Greenberg law firm. She also interned at EarthRights and Environmental Defender Law Center.

Rachel holds B.A.s from Pitzer College in Environmental Analysis and Latin American Environment and Society. She received her J.D. from the George Washington University.