Brenda Zollitsch

Dr. Brenda Zollitsch serves as Lecturer in Public Policy and Nonprofit Management for Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. Prior to joining USM fulltime in 2022, she worked as Senior Policy Analyst for a national environmental nonprofit addressing wetland and water resource policy and regulatory issues. She has served in leadership positions throughout her career, including as Senior Administrator of Continuing Medical Education at Boston University School of Medicine and as executive director of a youth development foundation in Maine.

Dr. Zollitsch’s teaching and research work has focused on environmental resource management, water resource policy and management, state and tribal program capacity building, organizational development, collaborative implementation of policy, sustainability, and climate adaptation. She has a strong background in teaching, training and curriculum development, as well as collaboration, resource development and capacity building across sectors. She is currently involved in social science research as part of a University of Maine research team exploring microplastics in Maine’s waters.

Dr. Zollitsch is widely published in applied settings where her work is utilized by regulators and practitioners across the nation. Dr. Zollitsch earned her PhD in public policy from the University of Southern Maine in 2012. She is also a Switzer Environmental Fellow. At the Muskie School of Public Service, she now teaches courses on applied policy analysis; governance, democracy, and public policy; research methods; policy argumentation and advocacy; organizational leadership, sustainable communities, and grant writing. In her service work, Dr. Zollitsch is a professional facilitator and strategic planner helping Maine communities address stormwater management issues in the State of Maine.