Marc Matsil — Courtesy: U.S. Green Building Council New Jersey
By Joshua Burd
The U.S. Green Building Council’s New Jersey Chapter has hired a veteran nonprofit and government leader to serve as its new executive director.
Marc Matsil, a leading urban ecologist, takes over the position with years of experience developing urban and rural innovations that create resilient, livable cities and regions, according to a USGBC NJ news release. The organization touted him as an entrepreneurial, award-winning government and nonprofit executive whose work has stretched from New York City to Alaska, with a career of advancing resilience, conservation and restoration strategies.
“In the advent of climate change — sea level rise and greater storm intensities, USGBC NJ’s mission is to transform the state’s built environment into an ecologically resilient and sustainable system, reduce energy consumption and carbon inputs, to result in healthier, greener communities,” Matsil said in a prepared statement. “Through education, advocacy and growth of its LEED program, and collaboration with our partners, this can be achieved.”
Matsil has a track record of creating public-private partnerships that integrate the natural and built environment into the urban and regional fabric, the news release said. He has been awarded the Theodore Sperry International Award by the Society of Ecology Restoration, the coveted U.S. EPA/Environmental Law Institute National Wetlands Award and two U.S. EPA Environmental Quality Awards, among others.
He takes over a position held by Florence Block, who passed away last fall and served as the chapter’s first executive director.
“We look forward to the next phase of our Chapter’s growth with Marc Matsil at the helm,” said Faith Taylor, senior vice president, global corporate social responsibility, for Wyndham Worldwide and USGBC NJ’s board chair. “His wealth of knowledge, his experience, and his passion will be a great asset to the Chapter and Region.”
Matsil served for 15 years as chief of the New York City Parks Natural Resources Group, where he worked with multiple branches of government, businesses and nonprofits to conserve and restore lands in the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary, the USGBC NJ said. He raised more than $200 million to execute the program.
He has also served as assistant commissioner for Natural & Historic Resources for the state of New Jersey and as the state’s deputy state historic preservation officer. His other past positions include director of parks and recreation in Juneau, Alaska, and as New York State director at The Trust for Public Land.
