Littoral Society Board Member Joins Pinelands Commission

​Late last year, NJ Governor Phil Murphy appointed two people to join the Pinelands Commission. One was Jessica Sanchez, who served as a Trustee of the Pinelands Preservation Alliance for many years, and the other was Mark Mauriello, who currently serves as vice president of the American Littoral Society's Board of Trustees.

Mark was sworn in as a member of the Pinelands Commission’s 15-member board in January of this year.

 “I would like to thank Governor Murphy for this appointment and am honored to join the Pinelands Commission as a Commissioner,” he said at the swearing-in ceremony. “I look forward to working with my fellow Commissioners and the dedicated Commission staff to promote orderly development of the Pinelands, while protecting and preserving the unique resources of the Pinelands.”

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After earning a bachelor’s degree in geology from Middlebury College in Vermont, Mark began his career with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in 1980, working as a shoreline mapping specialist with the New Jersey Geological Survey.

During the 1980’s and 1990’s, he rose through the ranks of the Division of Coastal Resources and Land Use Regulation Division, and was appointed as Division Director in 2002. In 2006, Mark was selected to be Assistant Commissioner for Land Use Management, and in 2008 he was nominated by Governor Jon S. Corzine to serve as Commissioner of the DEP, replacing newly confirmed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson.

Mark served in as NJDEP Commissioner from November 2008 until his retirement from DEP in January 2010.

In 2015, he brought his vast experience with Trenton policies and procedures to the Littoral Society board, where he has been a valuable contributor to the strategic planning of conservation and policy initiatives. He became Vice-President of the Board in 2019 and currently serves on the Governance Committee and is chair of the Policy Committee.

“Mark Mauriello brings decades of experience and expertise in crafting and administering regulations that protect New Jersey’s environment,” said Susan R. Grogan, Acting Executive Director of the Pinelands Commission, in a statement regarding his appointment. “We look forward to working with him as we continue our efforts to preserve, protect and enhance the Pinelands.”

The Pinelands Commission is an independent state agency that is charged with protecting the natural, cultural, and historic resources of the 938,000-acre state Pinelands Area, which includes parts or all of 53 municipalities in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Ocean counties. 

The Commission’s 15-member board consists of seven members who are appointed by the New Jersey Governor, one member appointed by each of the seven Pinelands counties, and one member appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Commission members are unpaid volunteers who dedicate countless hours of their time and expertise while serving on the Commission.

The two new appointments replaced commissioners Gary Quinn and Jane Jannarone.

Quinn served as a gubernatorial representative on the Pinelands Commission from July 27, 2011 to November 21, 2022, after years working in municipal and county government, including time on the Lacey Township Committee, Planning Board and Board of Education. He is currently serving his second term on the Ocean County Board of Commissioners.

Jannarone served as Cumberland County’s representative on the Commission from June 12, 2014 until her resignation on December 1, 2022. She previously served as a member of the Cumberland County Board of County Commissioners and she is a real estate broker with more than 25 years of experience.