Blakely Hildebrand

Senior Attorney

Blakely works in North Carolina and at the local, state, and federal levels to strengthen and defend water quality laws so that the rivers, streams, wetlands, and other waterways that North Carolina families depend on are healthy and clean. 

Blakely has worked on a wide range of water quality issues in North Carolina alongside SELC’s partners, including protecting communities and public health from pollution caused by industrial animal agriculture, advocating for strong water quality permits for industrial polluters, and stopping oil drilling off the Southeast coast. She draws on policy and advocacy experience gained before she entered law school, including work on a congressional campaign and on Capitol Hill, for a city government, and for a national non-profit organization.    

“My family has been in North Carolina for generations,” she notes. “I feel a strong personal connection to the places and communities SELC works to protect, from the coastal plain, where I have deep family roots, to the mountains, where I grew up and find peace, to the Triangle, where I went to college and law school and now raise a family.”  

• Board member, North Carolina Conservation Network
• Lecturing fellow, Duke University School of Law
• J.D., University of North Carolina School of Law, with honors
• B.A., University of North Carolina with honors