Patricia M. DeMarco, Ph.D.

“As individuals and people acting together, we have the power to change the world toward a sustainable future. I believe the solutions for sustainability are in hand- no silver bullet technology is necessary. We need the moral fortitude to take action. The laws of Nature are not negotiable. We must adjust our laws to live in harmony with Nature and work to strengthen the life support systems of the Living Earth.”

Contact

Please contact me to discuss a custom presentation that will fit with your audience.

Email: demarcop6@gmail.com

Phone: (412) 708 9277

---

Bio

Patricia M. DeMarco is a Pittsburgh author with a doctorate in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. She has spent a fifty-year career in energy and environmental policy in both private and public sector positions. She learned her craft in public policy from Connecticut Governor Ella T. Grasso, for whom she served as policy advisor to the National Governors Association Low Level Nuclear Waste Compact negotiations. Following her position as Demand Side Manager for the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative, she served is a Commissioner of the Regulated Utilities Commission of Alaska. She returned to Pittsburgh in 2006, and served as Executive Director of the Rachel Carson Homestead Association then as Director of the Rachel Carson Institute at Chatham University, where she now holds an appointment as Senior Scholar and Adjunct Faculty. She sits on the Board of Trustees for Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and for The Allegheny Land Trust. She is a Principal Associate in The Main Street Associates, headquartered in Braddock, PA https://www.themainst.org/  She writes and lectures in the fields of sustainability, energy and environmental policy, and natural history.

---

Books:

“Pathways to Our Sustainable Future – A Global Perspective from Pittsburgh”  explores positive pathways toward sustainability, based on 28 case studies in Pittsburgh. It was published by The University of Pittsburgh Press in 2017. Order the book and find a book signing event here https://patriciademarco.com/book/

“In the Footsteps of Rachel Carson: Harnessing earth’s healing power”  Urban Press 2022.   Order here https://patriciademarco.com/Books 

“ReImagine Appalachia- Healing the Land and Empowering the People” In Press with Springer-Nature for first quarter 2024.

Curriculum Vitae and Appointments

• Forest Hills Borough Council Member  2016-2020 and Vice President 2020 to 2023
• Pennsylvania Municipal League- Board of Directors 2021-2024.
• CONNECT (Congress of Neighboring Communities) President 2021-2022 Chair, Research Policy Council 2024
• Senior Scholar, Chatham University, Adjunct Faculty 2012 to present
• Battle of Homestead Foundation – Treasurer 2018 -2020, Board Member 2021-2022
• Board of Trustees, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens 2019 to Present; Secretary of the Board of Trustees 2022-2023, Vice President 2024-2026
• Board of Trustees, Allegheny Land Trust 2020 -present
• Board of Directors, Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light

Full CV HERE [.pdf]

---

Awards

Penn Future Women of Lifetime Achievement Award 2020

Carnegie Science Award in Environment 2019

Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light Visionary Award for 2018

 William R. Freudenburg Lifetime Achievement Award, Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences 2017

AESS Award Acceptance Speech

---

Recent Publications

“Rachel Carson’s environmental ethic – a guide for global systems decision making.” Journal of Cleaner Production. Vol 140, Part 1, Pages 127-133. January 2017.

Patricia M. DeMarco. “Protecting the Rights of the Living Earth.” in Toward a Healthy Planet. Gerald Magill and James Benedict (Eds.) Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. 2021. Pages 53-67.

---