Cynthia Carrow began her career at the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC) in March of 1973, more than 51 years ago. Over the five decades she has committed to WPC, she has held several leadership positions.
In her current role as vice president, government and community relations, she has oversight of all public policy matters and strategic government affairs.
In addition to these responsibilities, she also directly manages the Heritage Program and the Community Greening Program, two of the largest program areas at the Conservancy.
As a member of the senior leadership team, she has consistently provided strategic direction for the Conservancy.
Cynthia also oversees WPC’s sustainability efforts, which have included energy efficiency, alternative energy generation, carbon emissions assessments, and transitions to electric vehicles.
She is involved with public and private fundraising for all aspects of her program areas, including unanticipated needs for special projects.
She steered the relocation of WPC’s headquarters, not once but twice, most recently to Washington’s Landing in Pittsburgh in 2007.
She gathered support for the UNESCO World Heritage List inscription of WPC’s most well-known property, Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterwork Fallingwater as part of a serial nomination of Wright buildings, and she has been instrumental in securing state investments for capital projects at the historic house museum to improve the visitor experience.
Ms. Carrow participates in a wide variety of conservation and environmental programs and activities in Pennsylvania.
Since 1997, Cynthia has been appointed by the Pennsylvania Senate Pro Tempore to serve on the Citizen’s Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
She served as Chair of the Council for 2 years and has served on Council’s Executive Committee for the last 16 years.
Created by law and reporting to the Governor, the General Assembly, DEP and the public, the Council’s duty is to review the work of the DEP and make recommendations for improvements, study major environmental issues facing Pennsylvania, and promote sound environmental legislation.
Ms. Carrow also serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board created to, among other responsibilities, formulate, adopt and promulgate rules and regulations as determined necessary for the proper performance of the work of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
She also currently serves on DEP’s Mining and Reclamation Advisory Board, and WeConservePA’s Policy Council.
Additionally, Cynthia is a longtime member of the Growing Greener Coalition executive committee, where she has helped to promote and defend state sources of funding for parks and forests, clean waters, trails, and farmland preservation.
In 1996, Ms. Carrow spearheaded the purchase and adaptive reuse of a Greek revival style building constructed in 1836 to serve as the Conservancy’s headquarters building, the oldest office building in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She directed the renovation using environmentally responsible “green” design principles that resulted in the building being the oldest “green” building in Pennsylvania and received the Governor’s esteemed “Environmental Excellence” award.
In 2007, the Conservancy moved its headquarters from this building in 2007 because of the need for more office space.
Ms. Carrow formerly served for nearly ten years on the Board of Directions of Conservation Consultants, Inc., a nonprofit organization with a mission to improve energy efficiency in homes, schools, and other buildings through education, on-site audits and implementation of energy efficient alternatives.
For three years, Ms. Carrow served as Board Chair. Ms. Carrow also served on the founding board of its subsidiary organization, the Green Building Alliance.
In 2006, Ms. Carrow served as co-chair of the PA Abandoned Mine Land Campaign coalition.
The coalition, represented by over 200 watershed groups in PA, worked successfully for Congressional reauthorization of the federal Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Fund.
The reauthorization of the Fund brought $1.4 billion to PA to reclaim abandoned mine sites encompassing 186,000 acres and clean up 4,600 miles of streams polluted by acid mine drainage from these sites.
A fixture of Pennsylvania’s conservation community, she was instrumental in many conservation victories, including notably the establishment and expansion of the Commonwealth’s Growing Greener Program, and a veteran of countless successful efforts to protect and increase conservation funding in the state budget.
Other past involvement as a community and environmental leader includes: Cultural Trust Advisory Board (Pittsburgh), member of ARCS Foundation Pittsburgh,), former member of WQED Advisory Board, former board president of Animal Rescue League and Wildlife Center (now known as Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh), appointed by the Governor in 2011 to serve on the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, and many other efforts.
In her educational background, Cynthia attended Clemson University and the University of Pittsburgh where she received a B.S. degree.
Her remarkable and inimitable leadership has been a hallmark of the Conservancy for over half of its existence as an organization, and Cynthia’s commitment to WPC and its mission has inspired generations of her staff and fellow coworkers.
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The 2025 PA Land Conservation Conference will be held April 2-4 in State College.
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[Posted: March 13, 2025] PA Environment Digest
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