Mark Lowery

Mark Lowery serves as assistant director of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Office of Climate Change. He joined the Office of Climate Change as one of its original staff members in 2007. His principal areas of responsibility have included leading public outreach efforts for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, State Sea Level Rise Task Force, and climate action planning. He has also been responsible for development of the state’s principal program to support municipal climate action.

Lowery conceived and oversaw development of the Climate Smart Communities certification program and portal, and the Climate Smart Communities grants program. He has led implementation of the Community Risk and Resiliency Act, including promulgation of the state’s sea-level rise projection regulation and development of state flood risk management guidance, and is now helping to plan implementation of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. 

Lowery provides oversight to all Office of Climate Change programs but focuses on climate adaptation and leads the state’s Interagency Climate Adaptation and Resilience Work Group. He represents the office on a variety of interagency, interstate, and national working groups and is frequently invited to speak about DEC climate-change programs to both professional and lay audiences.

He began his career with DEC as a senior wildlife biologist, focused on deer and land management on Long Island. He also served as a regional citizen participation specialist, and prior to joining the Office of Climate Change, as chief of DEC’s Bureau of Public Outreach.