Dominique Burkhardt

About Dominique Burkhardt

Dominique Burkhardt works with grassroots advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, and environmental groups to achieve environmental and climate justice and promote healthy communities.Dominique’s work is at the intersection of environmental law, racial justice, and social justice, and she currently focuses on polluting facilities impacting communities, air quality, toxic Superfund sites, pesticides, Zero Waste policy, and access to justice. Dominique began her legal career as an assistant public defender in one of the largest and busiest judicial districts in Florida, experiencing firsthand the intersections of race and social justice in the law. She was awarded the “Best Advocate” award at a statewide training conference and was recognized by the local criminal defense bar for her successes defending her clients in trial. She then worked in private practice in criminal defense and immigration law before joining Earthjustice, committing to use her legal skills and experience to further the fight for environmental justice. Dominique has been featured in the Miami Herald, the Tampa Bay Times, WLRN, Politico, and E&E News, and her work has otherwise been featured on Telemundo, Univision, and in Bloomberg CityLab. While in law school at the University of Florida, Dominique received the top grade and earned the book award in her Environmental Justice seminar, where her research focused on federal natural disaster response in the United States and internationally. She has since returned to UF as a guest lecturer for the law school\'s Environmental Justice seminar and as a speaker at the law school\'s annual Public Interest Environmental Conference.

Experience

1. Senior Attorney

   Earthjustice

   Jan 2021 — Present

Education

• University of Florida

  B.S., B.A., Journalism (Public Affairs Reporting), Political Science (International Relations)

  2009

• University of Florida - Fredric G. Levin College of Law

  Juris Doctor (J.D.)

  2012