Zachary Hennessee
Staff Attorney
Zachary focuses on protecting Georgia’s coasts and wetlands, and the communities and wildlife that depend on them. He litigates cases for SELC in federal, state, and administrative courts and has experience handling high-stakes appeals nationwide, including before the U.S. Supreme Court.
He advises community members and partner groups, comments on agency permits and rulemakings, and develops innovative policy solutions to address wetlands loss and other pressing environmental threats.
“I am most excited to help communities facing rising sea levels and stronger storms develop local solutions to global problems,” he said.
“I have wanted to work for SELC ever since I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2013,” he added. “I learned then about the work SELC was doing to protect the trail and the South more generally, and I knew immediately I wanted to be part of that mission.”
Atlanta is a big part of Zachary’s life. He grew up in the city, and he and his wife are now raising two young sons there. “I spent nearly every summer of my childhood rafting on a homemade raft on the Chattahoochee River,” he said. “I love how you can be right in the middle of a city of millions of people and see nothing but mist-draped waters, deep green forests, wildflower-filled cliffs, and herons quietly spearing fish.”
- Orrick Herrington & Sutcliff LLP, Supreme Court & Appellate Group, senior associate (Atlanta, GA and Washington, D.C.)
- U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, law clerk
- U.S. District Court, D.C. District, law clerk
- J.D., Duke University School of Law; Duke Law Journal; Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum
- B.A., Emory University