Kerensa Gimre Associate

Kerensa Gimre counsels clients on complex regulatory compliance and permitting issues under state and federal environmental and natural resource laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act (CWA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and Endangered Species Act (ESA). As a component of her compliance and permitting practice, Kerensa is well-versed in helping clients navigate enforcement actions undertaken by state and federal agencies. She also has significant experience counseling clients on rulemaking proceedings and assisting in environmental litigation.

Kerensa’s counseling and compliance advice covers a wide range of additional regulated areas, including advising clients on chemical and substance restrictions in products, including polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and counseling clients on regulations applicable to the travel industry, such as state and local restrictions on short-term rentals. As an extension of her environmental counseling and compliance practice, Kerensa also advises food and beverage industry clients on regulatory matters with the USDA, FDA, and EPA, including product labeling, licensing, and registration.

Kerensa earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, with a certificate in public interest and social justice law. She was awarded pro bono honors of the highest distinction for her significant contributions to pro bono matters, including working with the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center, a nonprofit organization in Appalachia that fights for justice for coal miners and their families. She also worked with the Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic, authoring a report on date labeling laws and policies globally, and the impact of date labeling on food loss and waste.

Prior to her career in law, Kerensa was a senior environmental consultant at Ramboll. In this role, she conducted socioeconomic impact assessments for a range of private and public sector clients in water and energy infrastructure spaces. She also managed and evaluated large environmental sampling databases through geospatial analysis and geographic information system (GIS) mapping to support litigation, particularly in cost allocation and insurance recovery cases.