Mark Pisano
Senior Fellow
Ralph and Goldy Lewis Hall 201FLos Angeles, CA 90089-0626
Email: mpisano@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-1280
Expertise
Urban Planning, regional planning, transportation, housing, development, environmental policy
Biographical Sketch
Mark Pisano is a senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development. For 31 years, he served as executive director of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the nation's largest regional planning agency. The association consists of a voluntary group of local governments that focuses on dealing with many vital local issues, including aspects of environmental conditions, transportation, housing and development. As Executive Director, he contributed greatly to the implementation of the Alameda Corridor Plan, which involved the construction of a 22-mile rail line running to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in order to improve freight container capacity. The plan contributed largely to making port operational methods and the overall transfer of goods throughout California more effective. Before joining SCAG, Mark Pisano served as director of the Environmental Protection Agency's Water Quality Planning Division. He has also co-founded and held positions at various not-for-profit and governmental associations, such as the California Center for Research and Development, California Federation for Energy and the Environment, California Hazardous Waste Management Authority, LINC Housing, and California Leadership. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgetown University.