“I’m very excited to return to Public Advocates as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. This project will deepen our impact on housing justice by focusing on where housing, racial, and environmental inequities intersect. It means a lot to be doing this work knowing that Public Advocates believes in my vision for more equitable environmental protections in the face of climate change. I look forward to learning from and being surrounded by such inspiring people again.”
~ Megan Wilhelm
Megan (she/her) is an Equal Justice Works Fellow with Public Advocates’ Metropolitan Equity Team, where she leads a two-year fellowship project focused on promoting climate resilience and housing justice in California. Her work centers on addressing environmental racism by advancing climate resilient policies in affordable housing communities, particularly in urban heat islands disproportionately affecting Black and Brown Californians. Part of her project also includes increasing natural heat resilient infrastructure, like increased tree canopies for cooling, storm runoff, and improved air quality. Megan’s project also aims to combat displacement and promote long term stability for vulnerable tenants through stronger housing protections and equitable land use policies.
During law school, Megan employed an intersectional and community-centered approach to advocacy for historically ignored groups. She contributed to the work of the San Francisco Reparations Commission, UC Law San Francisco’s Center for Racial and Economic Justice, and Public Advocates as an Arc of Justice Fellow. As an Arc of Justice Fellow, she conducted legal research and policy analysis on regional housing elements, focusing on the enforceability of their Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) strategies.
At UC Law San Francisco, Megan was a student leader in several campus organizations, including Students for Disability Justice, Students for Immigrant Rights, and the Black Law Students Association. She also completed the Social Justice Lawyering Concentration, where she deepened her commitment to dismantling systemic barriers across race, class, and accessibility.
Education
Megan graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. in General Social Sciences with an emphasis in Crime, Law, and Society in 2020. She graduated from UC Law San Francisco (Formerly UC Hastings) as Pro Bono Pledge with a concentration in Social Justice in 2024.