Joanne M Throwe
Director, Environmental Finance Center

Office: 1104 Preinkert Field House    |    Phone: 301-405-5036    |    Email

M.A., Public Policy, University of Maryland

Joanne M.  Throwe is the Director for the Environmental Finance Center (EFC), a unit of the National Center for Smart Growth located at the University of Maryland.   The EFC serves the Mid-Atlantic region to assist communities in identifying innovative financing techniques for environmental protection.  Ms. Throwe specializes in areas related to the financing watershed planning, waste management, energy and water conservation, and sustainable agriculture practices. She has an extensive background in areas related to agriculture where she has led many prior activities for the EFC over the last four years.  Ms. Throwe is the creator of Maryland's online agricultural trading website known as Agtrader.org and the online Farmer's Market known as Foodtrader.org.  Her work in Mid-Atlantic communities includes founding the Eastern Shore Agriculture Collaborative; facilitating watershed protection and community visioning activities around the region; and assisting Ports with greening initiatives.  Prior to becoming Director, Ms. Throwe served two years as Associate Director and two years as Agriculture Program Leader for the EFC.  During her time with EFC, she worked simultaneously with USDA as part of a shared faculty arrangement for eighteen months to lend her expertise in coordinating special agriculture projects related to renewable energy, ecosystem services, and water quality.  Ms. Throwe has organized several important conferences including a USDA sponsored "Women in Agriculture" symposium held at the University of Maryland; a national conference for USDA on "Water Reuse Applications in Agriculture"; and Sustainable Infrastructure for Drinking and Wastewater for Region 3 & 4.  Prior to joining the EFC, Ms. Throwe spent several years as a Development Resource Specialist at USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service and two years as an Agriculture Extension Agent for Peace Corps in the South Pacific.