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Marla Marcinko
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TAB 7
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
July 24, 2005
ZELIENOPLE MANAGER POISED
TO MEET CHALLENGES OF NEW JOB
Author: Maureen Byko
Marla Marcinko possesses what may be the ultimate combination of qualifications needed to
succeed as a municipal manager: a keen understanding of the law, an affinity for new challenges
and a degree in psychology.
Marcinko, manager of Zelienople for more than 10 years, has resigned effective Aug. 10 to
become manager of Penn Hills, a city suburb with a population, budget, and political climate that
share little in common with Zelienople's.
Penn Hills has a budget of $33 million; Zelienople, $8 million. Penn Hills has 46,000 people;
Zelienople, 4,000.
And Penn Hills has churned through three municipal managers in less than two years;
Zelienople's administration has been stable.
Marcinko, 43, is not intimidated by the differences.
"I really think it's a great opportunity for professional growth and development," she said, though
this is not the profession Marcinko had in mind when she studied psychology at Northern
Arizona University.
"I thought I was going to eventually go to law school," she said.
But shortly after she earned her master's degree in public administration from the University of
San Diego, her sister, who lived in Sewickley, called her and told her a municipal manager's
position was available in West Deer.
At 26, Marcinko became the youngest municipal manager in Allegheny County. When the
Zelienople position opened, Marcinko, charmed by the community applied and won the job.
"It's a lovely, quaint town. I had no idea the complexity of the community on first glance," she
said.
In Zelienople, the manager is the head of just about every department.
"We don't have a [human resources] person here. We don't have an [information technology]
person here. We don't have a public safety director here," she said.
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