Hannah Shakir is a rising third-year law student at the University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) pursuing a career in environmental and public interest law. As a first-generation law student, Hannah is passionate about creating opportunities for mentorship, community-building, and increased access to the legal profession for students from underrepresented backgrounds.

At UHLC, Hannah has sought to maximize every opportunity for leadership, scholarship, and service. She has been elected as President for the upcoming academic year of the Energy and Environmental Law Society (EELS) and has previously served as Treasurer. In this role, she aims to expand environmental and energy law programming, strengthen professional development opportunities, and foster a supportive community for students interested in environmental advocacy. She has also been elected Secretary of the Muslim Legal Society, reflecting her commitment to building community and supporting students from diverse backgrounds. She has served as Social Coordinator of the Public Interest Law Organization (PILO). She is a member of the Houston Journal of International Law, where her comment, Displacement of Indigenous and Tribal Communities in Kenya and India in the Name of Conservation, received the James Skelton Award for Outstanding Comment in International Human Rights Law. She has also worked as a research assistant developing topics in environmental law and energy law.

Hannah interned with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid’s (“TRLA”) environmental justice team last summer, where she worked on a broad array of front-line environmental matters involving citizen suits, nuisance actions, and enforcement accountability in environmental justice communities.

This summer, Hannah is an intern with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she is deepening her experience in environmental and public interest law. Through her academic achievements, leadership roles, and commitment to mentorship, she strives to advance environmental justice while helping create pathways for future generations of lawyers from underrepresented communities.