April Lipscomb

Senior Attorney

As a seasoned litigator, April represents partner organizations who are fighting for clean water, environmental justice, and proper handling of solid and hazardous waste. As a leader of the Georgia Water Coalition, a powerful group of advocates who work to protect Georgia’s water resources, April recommends strategy and provides legal analysis to its member organizations. She also lobbies state and local officials on behalf of SELC and the Georgia Water Coalition, and advocates for more stringent permits and regulations before the state Environmental Protection Division and Department of Natural Resources Board.

Not only do I get to take on meaningful legal challenges in court to protect special places and affected communities, but I also get to advocate for good environmental policy at the Georgia legislature.

Senior Attorney April Lipscomb

April is most energized when she works with local communities fighting environmental injustices. Pollution and environmental hazards disproportionately burden people of color and low-wealth communities, and April strives to elevate those communities’ voices and to address that inequity head on. Case in point: A solid waste handling facility that was built in Stonecrest, just east of Atlanta, in the middle of Black neighborhoods without residents’ knowledge or input. SELC is challenging actions related to that facility, and is working with partners to update local ordinances across the state. Better laws will include environmental justice concerns and give communities a greater voice in local decision-making. 

“I grew up playing in the creeks and forests near my hometown in North Carolina, and have always felt a deep connection to natural places,” April says. ”At SELC I have found a way to incorporate that deep connection into work that I love. Not only do I get to take on meaningful legal challenges in court to protect special places and affected communities, but I also get to advocate for good environmental policy at the Georgia legislature.”

When not advocating for Georgians in court or at the capitol, April considers the age-old question: mountains or beach? She loves that Atlanta affords her family easy access to both their favorite beaches along Jekyll Island or the rhododendron thickets of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Previous experience

• Georgia River Network, 2018 Conservationist of the Year Award
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, law clerk, staff attorney 
• J.D., University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Order of Saint Ives   
• B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, cum laude 
• With SELC since 2014