Daynard Community Lecture: Anjali Waikar ’05

Daynard Community Lecture
On the Public Interest Path: Changing Lanes Along the Way

Fall 2022 Daynard Public Interest Visiting Fellow
Anjali Waikar ’05
Operations Director, Litigation, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Anjali Waikar oversees legal operations for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international nonprofit organization working to protect the public health and environment. Previously, Waikar was an attorney with NRDC’s Environmental Justice Team, working to advance health justice on behalf of vulnerable communities. Waikar was one of the original members of the litigation team that sued under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act to ensure Flint, Michigan residents have safe drinking water.

Waikar has dedicated her legal career to advancing the rights of the underserved. She worked at the ACLU of Massachusetts, focusing on immigrants’ rights and post-9/11 racial and ethnic profiling, and later Krokidas & Bluestein in Boston, where she represented and advised primarily nonprofit organizations regarding litigation; employment; health care; privacy and data security; education law; and other civil matters. Before law school, Waikar worked as a South Brooklyn Legal Services case handler, advocating for public benefits for low-income, HIV-infected individuals.

Waikar is currently a Cook County Human Rights Commissioner. Anjali received her JD from Northeastern and her BA from Wesleyan University.