Hi! I'm Lorren Ruscetta
(lor•ren roo•shet•ta)
I am an interdisciplinary marine social scientist focused on supporting community-led visions for a just future. I currently serve as the Island Institute Fellow working with the Town of Chebeague Island.
My work here sits at the intersection of rural community development, climate resilience planning, and energy resilience initiatives.
In my first six months as a Fellow, I have successfully supported the Town in applying for and ultimately being awarded over $100,000 in state and local grant monies to promote community-centered climate adaptation measures such as sea level rise vulnerability assessments for critical island and mainland infrastructure.
Education & Awards
Master of Marine Policy, University of Delaware, May 2025
Advisor: Dr Jeremy Firestone
2025 Recipient of the Knecht and Cicin-Sain Marine Policy Award
2023 UD-DEMEC Renewable Energy Fellowship: awarded a graduate fellowship in renewable energy research from the University of Delaware (UD) and the Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC).
As a researcher at the University of Delaware’s Center for Research in Wind, my work was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant and the Department of Energy (DOE), where I both led and supported in mixed methods research to understand community perspectives of offshore wind energy development, with a focus on rural coastal communities, commercial fishermen, and seafood processors.
My graduate thesis work looked to understand if and how community benefit mechanisms associated with offshore wind energy development are meeting goals around just transitions and energy justice.
This work has been published in the peer-reviewed journals Energy Research & Social Science Vol 134 and Ocean & Coastal Management Vol 268.
Publications
- L. Ruscetta, E. Korein, E. Miller, J. Firestone, S. Hazboun, H. Boudet. “Transactional or Transformative? U.S. Offshore Wind Developer Perspectives on Community Benefit Mechanisms.” Energy Research & Social Science, 134 (2026), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
erss.2026.104625 - J.A. Bingham, E. Miller, L. Ruscetta, H.A. Taufiq, G. Stelmach, J. Firestone, T.R. Johnson, S. Hazboun, H.
Boudet. “Understanding the roles, limits, and best practices for community benefit agreements in U.S.
offshore wind development.” Ocean and Coastal Management, 268 (2025),
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107769 - In Progress: Z. Ketola, L. Ruscetta, E. Korein, (2026). What About Us? How Survey Respondents Think & Feel About Offshore Wind
- In Progress: Korein, E., Paye-Layleh, L., Ruscetta, L., Ketola, Z., David, N., & Firestone, J., (2026). Reconciling offshore wind siting and development with coastal, fish processing, and coal transition communities