Mia Hammersley

Mia Montoya Hammersley is a water and environmental attorney of Tigua and Yoeme descent. She received a BA in environmental studies from Franklin University in Lugano, Switzerland; an MS in water, society, and policy from the University of Arizona; and a JD, specializing in environmental law, science, and policy and Indigenous Peoples law and policy. Hammersley made the decision to attend law school after researching tribal water rights in her Master's program, which reinforced her growing passion for Indigenous environmental justice, intersectional environmentalism, and equitable water governance. In law school, she served as the Secretary of the Native American Law Students Association, President of the Environmental Law Society, Editor-in-Chief of the Arizona Journal of Environmental Law and Policy, and was a founding member of the Justice Advocates Coalition, a student-lead partnership for public interest and community lawyering. After graduating from law school, Hammersley served as the Healthy Communities Fellow with Earthjustice in Washington D.C., working on behalf of communities that bear a disproportionate share of environmental health harms and contributing to federal environmental litigation. After completing her fellowship, she returned to Arizona as an Associate Attorney with Montgomery & Interpreter, PLC, a boutique law firm focused in the areas of tribal law, water policy, environmental and natural resources, land use policy, and outdoor recreation. In this role, she acted as counsel of record in Arizona’s General Stream Adjudication and assisted Tribes with securing and using their federal reserved and aboriginal water rights, protecting their natural resources, and safeguarding sacred and religious sites. Hammersley is also the author of publications on climate change, social-ecological systems, and river restoration through dam removal.