Chris Askew-Merwin

Policy & Advocacy Coordinator at InterAction

Chris Askew-Merwin joined InterAction as a Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for the Global Development, Policy, and Learning Team in December of 2021. His role focuses on managing InterAction’s efforts on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) development.

Chris’s passion for water policy stems from growing up in Michigan, where even surrounded by 20% of the world’s surface freshwater, many communities struggle to maintain access to safe and affordable drinking water. To learn more about the role of public policy in expanding equitable access to water resources, Chris went to the University of Michigan for graduate school before moving to Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2019 to work as the Senior Policy Analyst for Water Programs at a research institute called the Northeast-Midwest Institute. Later Chris worked with the National Wildlife Federation on analyzing environmental legislation through environmental justice and equity lenses. Chris’s work has covered a variety of topics such as the household impacts of unaffordable water rates, water quality issues (lead, PFAS…), flood mitigation through nature-based solutions, agricultural run-off, and other forms of nonpoint source pollution, among others.

Chris earned a Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Development, a Master of Public Policy, and a Master of Science in Environment and Sustainability all from the University of Michigan. When he isn’t working, Chris enjoys learning all kinds of random trivia, trying new cuisines, playing games with friends, and traveling when possible.

Peers

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Timeline

  • Policy & Advocacy Coordinator

    Current role

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