Marian H. Long- In Memoriam
February 2017
By Kate Novick
Marian H. Long
Our friend and colleague, Marian Long, P.E., passed away peacefully on February 7, 2017 surrounded by close family and friends. In her words, she would have preferred another 25 to 30 years, but after a short but intense battle with a cancer, she was ready to go.
Marian graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1975. She was a Registered Professional Engineer in Safety in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a Board Certified Safety Professional.
She had a successful career managing complex and potentially catastrophic risks and was a forerunner in creating state-of-the-art emergency management systems. She spent years at the world’s oldest consultancy, Arthur D. Little, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was a Partner in the environmental, health, and safety practice. After relocating to Maine in 2003, she was a Vice President at Woodard & Curran and then since 2008, she was a Principal at Gradient Planning, LLC.
She managed hundreds of commercial and government contracts on four continents, including arctic locations and assignments for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, and state and local governments.
Over the past decade, she focused on the water and wastewater industry as a critical infrastructure that could benefit greatly from her decades of experience and the methodology she practiced to identify hazards, manage risks, and utilize incident management. Her motto was, “why plan for emergencies to happen if you can mitigate the risk they carry in the first place.” She took a big picture approach to emergency planning that straddled across to business strategy with a focus on life safety, property protection, reputation management, and continuity of operations.
Most notable among her many awards and honors, in 1996 she was awarded the Society of Fire Protection Engineers President’s Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the profession. She has served in several leadership positions for professional associations, including the New England Water Environmental Association, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and the National Fire Protection Association. She was also a founding and long-term member of the Cambridge, Massachusetts Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and most recently served on the LEPC for Hancock County, Maine.
Those who knew her were fortunate to bask in her kindness and encouragement. She was a passionate mentor, advocate, and an exceptionally thoughtful colleague. Her quick wit, dry sense of humor, her analytical and creative mind, and her would-be future contributions to the water and wastewater field will sorely be missed.
In her memory, contributions may be made to Maine Coast Heritage Trust, 1 Bowdoin Mill Island, Suite 201, Topsham, ME 04086.
Oh I didn’t know of her passing until now. I remember her from when she worked at Woodard & Curran. I loved her, she was a pistol! Always a smile and a positive attitude.