Marian Brown outside of Stratton 08/22/2023

Marian Brown

Director, Center for Sustainability and the Environment

315.364.3304
Zabriskie 213

Accomplishments

Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, was invited to serve as a judge of student presentations for the Union Springs Academy’s STEAM Fair on Sunday, March 10. This year’s fair theme was Aviation. Student teams created posters and models to explore some aspect of the field of aviation. This is the third year Brown has been an invited guest for this annual academic showcase event and the second year she was invited to serve as a judge. The first year Brown was invited to participate in USA’s STEAM Fair, she was the keynote speaker on that year’s theme of Sustainability.

Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, was named to another 2-year term on the Advisory Council for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The Advisory Council is the primary mechanism for members to get involved in AASHE governance. Consisting of leaders from higher education, business, nonprofits, and government, the Advisory Council provides advice and guidance on higher-level strategy as well as specific programs and services. Marian has served on the AASHE Advisory Council for several terms.

Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, was invited to serve as a judge for student science projects for the Union Springs Academy STEAM Fair on March 12. She judged architecture projects produced by high school juniors and seniors.

Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, presented “Sustainability: What It Is and Why it Matters” virtually to the Ithaca Rotary Club on Feb. 10, 2021. Brown has been named chair of the Resource Library subcommittee of the Energy Committee, a recent collaboration between the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) and the New York State Energy Resource and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The intent of the subcommittee’s effort is to curate and develop a robust online platform for private institutional representatives interested in learning how to integrate clean energy technologies. This resource library is intended to house appropriate best practices, planning document templates, case studies and links to webinars and other educational information from a wide variety of expert sources.

Marian Brown

Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, was invited to present the Sustainability Leadership Awards for the State of NY Sustainability conference, held virtually in early December 2020. On behalf of the conference planning committee, she presented the awards for student sustainability leadership and sustainability practitioner leadership, the latter of which Brown herself received at the 2019 conference.

Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, co-presented a Lightning Talk session, “A Dynamic (Electrification) Partnership, for the virtual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Oct. 20–22, 2020. Along with Jordan Kearns, CEO of Medley Thermal, Brown pre-recorded the pair’s presentation in which they discussed the potential to substantially reduce both energy costs and carbon emissions as a result of integrating the proposed dynamic electrification demonstration project in the College’s central heating plant.

Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, has been named to the planning committee for the State of NY Sustainability conference, which this year will be a virtual three-day conference. She was also invited by the Sustainable Endowments Institute to have Wells serve as a pilot institution for their “GRITS Goals” tool to model and track energy and emissions reductions for capital projects. Brown is also part of the new CICU Energy Committee, a collaborative partnership between the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to devise ways to ensure that private schools in New York are fully aware of the resources and support to become more energy efficient and less dependent on fossil fuels.

On Aug. 5, Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, was an invited panelist for a virtual webinar titled “State of the Industry: Sustainability,” organized by the Office of Career Services at Ithaca College. The three panelists, all Ithaca College graduates from various disciplines, offered insights and advice to the viewing participants on how to best prepare for a sustainability career. Brown provided the perspective that regardless of one’s academic background, one can learn to be a “sustainability intrapreneur” for their organization.

Marian Brown, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, was selected to co-present with Bob Hinkle, president and CEO of Metrus Energy, on “Bringing Higher Efficiency to Higher Education” at the 2020 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit in Atlanta in February. The pair presented on the unique “energy-as-a-service” financial model the College employed to fund energy efficiency upgrades that reduce utility costs and carbon emissions. Brown was also asked to chair the Educational Events committee for the recently formed Cayuga Climate Action group.

  • She has also begun writing a monthly column for the Auburn Citizen that showcases area businesses and organizations that have successfully integrated sustainability thinking and practice.
  • Because of her subject matter expertise in both sustainability and procurement, Marian was invited by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to review presentation proposals related to sustainable purchasing, evaluating them for potential delivery at the fall 2020 AASHE conference.

Marian Brown,Director of the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, co-presented “Deep Energy Savings through Efficiency-as-a-Service” at the State of New York Sustainability Conference in Rochester in November. This presentation detailed the partnership among Wells College, Trane, Metrus Energy and the Real-Time Energy Management Program offered through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) that has resulted in improved occupant comfort in campus buildings as well as significant energy savings. Marian co-presented with representatives from each of the partner entities: Heather Maxwell, comprehensive solutions sales leader for CT/NY/VT for Trane;Thomas Yeh, advisor for NYSERDA’s Real Time Energy Managementprogram;and Anastasia Beckett, senior VP of business development for Metrus EnergyAt that same conference, Marian was honored by her peers with the Sustainability Leadership Excellence Award.