Mark Dunlea

Image of Mark Dunlea
Visiting Faculty
Mark Dunlea teaches climate advocacy. He helped divest the NYC and NYS public pension funds from fossil fuels. He also spent 35 years doing anti-poverty organizing on hunger, healthcare, and economic justice issues. 

 


Biography

Dunlea is a graduate of RPI and Albany law school, where he was a co-founder of both NY Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) and national PIRG. He spent more than 35 years doing community organizing for ACORN and the Hunger Action Network of New York State, working on issues such as single-payer healthcare, economic justice, welfare rights, corporate accountability, and food sovereignty. 
 
Ten years ago, he started organizing full time on climate issues. As a steering committee member of 350NYC, he coordinated the successful campaigns to divest both the NYC and state pension funds from fossil fuels. He is chair of the Green Education and Legal Fund, and coordinator of PAUSE, the 350 affiliate in Albany NY. In 1985, he and his wife built their own passive solar home in Common Farms, an intentional community in Poestenkill, NY.  
 
A co-founder of the Green Party of NY, he is a former Town Board member and the Green’s nominee for State Comptroller in 2018. He is an active gardener, including being a former advisor to the NYS Office of Community Gardens. He has been a radio show host for more than 20 years, mainly with the Pacifica Network. He is currently a producer and co-host for a nightly news show with the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy NY. Dunlea was a visiting faculty member at Bennington for Spring 2022.