Resources for the Future (RFF), the Washington environmental think-tank where Molly Macauley spent most of her professional career, is planning a memorial service for her sometime in September. Macauley was murdered while walking her dogs near her Baltimore home on Friday night. Contributions in her memory may be made to two Baltimore animal shelters.

An obituary in today’s Baltimore Sun provides information on where memorial contributions may be sent:

BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter), 301 Stockholm Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

Maryland SPCA, 3300 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD 21211

The Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home confirms that the family is not planning a funeral service. [UPDATE, July 15: Although that was the initial information available, a celebration of life service is, in fact, planned for July 23 in Baltimore. RFF continues to plan a memorial service in September.) Macauley’s husband, Will Sheppard, died many years ago. She is survived by her life partner, Lee Lasky, an uncle, and cousins.

Macauley joined RFF in 1983 and rose to the position of Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow. Details on RFF’s planned memorial service will be announced later.



Molly Macauley. Photo credit: Resources for the Future website.

From 1979-1983, Macauley was a policy analyst at the Communications Satellite Corporation (COMSAT). She received her Bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William and Mary in 1979, and her Master’s and Doctorate degrees in economics from Johns Hopkins University in 1981 and 1983 respectively.

Macauley was internationally renowned for her work on the economics of satellites and of the space program generally. In addition to her work at RFF, she was a Visiting Professor of Economics at Johns Hopkins University from 1989-2008.

Baltimore police are still investigating the crime. The Baltimore Sun reports that the police are offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to arrest and indictment of a suspect.