Ariella Maron

In 2023, Ariella Maron became the fifth Executive Director and first woman to lead DVRPC in its 57-year history.

Maron is a passionate thought leader who is well known for her work to accelerate progress towards local sustainability, environmental justice, energy, and climate goals. Over her twenty-plus year career in the private and public sectors, she has led the development and implementation of far-reaching solutions to a broad set of urban challenges across the disciplines of urban planning, local government policy, infrastructure, and economic development.

Maron began her planning career working in the Bronx Office of the New York City Department of City Planning, followed by the Energy Office of the NYC Economic Development Corporation. She was then tapped to help build the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability and lead the development of PlaNYC, the groundbreaking sustainability plan that integrated land use and housing, parks and open space, economic development, infrastructure, and climate action planning. Maron was then appointed to the role of Deputy Commissioner of Energy Management at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. In that role, she created and led the effort to reshape the energy performance of the City’s 3,000+ existing buildings, implemented a number of clean energy projects, and helped establish the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation.

Maron has spent the last decade as a consultant supporting the work of cities, communities, and their partners across the country, first as Principal in the Cities practice of BuroHappold Engineering and, more recently, as the CEO of her own consultant firm, Lion Advisors, based in Philadelphia. As a consultant, she has helped regional authorities, local governments, communities, supporting organizations, and philanthropy to align climate work with community and institutional priorities, design more inclusive engagement processes and governance models, and develop strategic plans and initiatives to achieve shared goals. She is also a partner with the collaborative City Scale, which explores and expands the roles that local government can play on climate change, and she is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation.