Meet the Director

Our current director is Mary Ellen Mallia. Mary Ellen received her B.S. in Economics from Siena College and began her career in the financial sector, first at a brokerage firm and then in financial management at GE in Schenectady. She left that position to pursue a career in teaching, obtaining her Masters in Secondary Social Science Education from UAlbany. She taught Economics, Public Policy and American History at Guilderland High School for eight years before returning to Siena to teach Economics, with a specialty of Environmental Economics. While fulfilling her teaching duties, she pursued her PhD in Ecological Economics from RPI which she obtained in August 2006.

Mary Ellen began as Director of UAlbany’s Office of Environmental Sustainability in January of 2008. Outside of work, Mary Ellen has a deep devotion to nature, especially the welfare of animals. She volunteered for Whiskers, a local no-kill animal shelter in Albany, for several years and served on their Board of Directors. Currently she lives on a farm near Schenectady, NY with her husband and daughter where they raise llamas and chickens.