Meet Kate Merlin | Public interest environmental attorney

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kate Merlin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kate, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
The fossil fuel industry has provided cheap fuel that has come at a terrible cost. As we know, the stability of our entire global climate is in dire peril. Communities in areas where extraction and refining are occurring are being exposed to pollution at rates we know are damaging and even deadly. That includes north Denver and the Globeville-Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods where the Suncor refinery is, and the entire north Front Range where fracking is occurring within just a few hundred feet of homes and schools. As a public interest environmental attorney my work has been removing environmental subsidies from industry and pushing our government to protect people and the planet – for example, making oil companies pay to plug and remediate their old wells, stopping them from drilling new wells close to where people are already living, and pushing the government to better regulate this industry where they’ve always looked the other way. Suncor has been operating a major source of deadly air toxics emissions with air permits that expired a decade ago within spitting distance of downtown Denver. That’s not okay.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I doubt that any professional would say that it’s been easy to get where they are. Like anyone, I’ve had areas of incredible privilege that helped me succeed, and challenges to overcome. To name one privilege, both of my parents were professionals who strongly believe in education – pushing me and supporting me to finish college, and encouraging me to take on graduate school to pursue law. On the challenge side, I struggled a lot with Attention Deficit Disorder which wasn’t diagnosed until I was in my mid-30s. I always felt like things were twice as hard for me as they “should” be, but having the motivation of a passion for nature and science really helped me push through those challenges. Love is an incredibly powerful drive to action. All the successful people I know are motivated by a love of something, and it’s what we love that defines us as people.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely want to get friends out for a hike at Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a stroll around the Botanic Gardens, or for another parent – the Children’s Museum or Paco Sanchez park. Some favorite spots to eat are Ace Eat Serve, Vine Street Pub, Lucille’s, Uncle, Safta, and City O’ City.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
In addition to my parents, the National Outdoor Leadership School taught me to love and respect the environment, and inspired me to work to protect it.

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-merlin

Twitter: @wild_merlin