Ocean, Stars And Daylight

Rebecca Rubin is being honored as a Champion of Change for her efforts as a Community Resilience Leader.

For me, my commitment to building resilient communities is really pretty simple. It's all about what we can do to minimize humankind's negative impacts on nature and reinforce the positive ones. This is the surest and most effective pathway, not just to a healthier planet, but also to a greener and more resilient economy. My own journey has been one of realizing that the natural world is the beginning and the end of everything that matters on this planet. After the natural world, everything else follows.

This approach has translated readily to my work life, where for the past twelve years, I have been privileged to be the Founder, President, and CEO of Marstel-Day Environmental Consulting, LLC – a name that means Ocean, Stars and Daylight.  We provide clients with concepts, strategies, and plans of action for landscape-scale conservation of natural resources, climate adaptation, energy planning and "net zero" strategies, water security, smart growth and transportation, and the management of issues relating to encroachment pressures on government and private lands, open space, and habitat. Our company was among the first small businesses ever to write both a company-wide Climate Action Plan and a Corporate Social Responsibility Report; we were also the first company in the nation to obtain certification as a service provider under P391, the National Standards Foundation general sustainability protocol.

At the same time, we have also made our commitment to helping economically depressed communities regain their footing via our commitment to the HUBZone program, a federal program under which we locate our principal office – and thirty five percent of our employees – in areas of low income and high unemployment.

Our journey to a deeper shade of green for ourselves and our clients, and our demonstrated community involvement, especially to areas of low income and high unemployment, form the backbone of Marstel-Day’s commitments to a more resilient community. We never stop looking for new initiatives and have recently launched our Climate, Environment and Readiness (CLEAR) plan in partnership with a wide variety of stakeholders to help our region in Virginia undertake climate adaptation and mitigation measures.

Rebecca R. Rubin is the Founder, President, and CEO of Marstel-Day, LLC.