Our People

Elizabeth McDade
Director

Elizabeth McDade is the Director of Rochester ENergy Efficiency and Weatherization (RENEW) Climate Fund, a program of Rochester Area Community Foundation Initiatives, Inc., and has worked in education, advocacy, coalition building, and environmental justice around health and housing for nearly two decades. Elizabeth has worked with the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning and is certified by the EPA in Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) and credentialed in HUD’s Healthy Homes Rating System, Lead Wipe Sampling Technician, Essentials for Health Housing Practitioners, and Implementing Healthy Homes Programs and Combating Indoor Environmental Hazards. Elizabeth is a consultant to the University of Rochester Medical Center Finger Lakes Children's Environmental Health Center and with two URMC healthy-home studies—CARE and ROC HOME. Elizabeth grew up in the 19th Ward and is a Rochester City School District graduate. She holds a BA and BFA from SUNY New Paltz, an MFA from Visual Studies Workshop, and in 2020, Elizabeth completed the Yale School of Public Health certificate program in “Climate Change and Health.”

To reach Elizabeth directly, please contact her at emcdade@racf.org or (585) 341-4362.