Salkin is the Raymond and Ella Smith Distinguished Professor of Law, associate dean, and director of the Government Law Center of Albany Law School. A recognized national scholar in the fields of land use law, community development, and government ethics, Salkin is the chair of the Amicus Curiae Committee for the American Planning Association. She is a past chair of the American Bar Association's State and Local Government Law Section, and current chair of the New York State Bar Association's Municipal Law Section. Among her numerous appointments, Salkin serves as a member of the U.S. EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, she chaired the New York State Bar Association's Task Force on Eminent Domain, and she is a member of the Association's Task Force on Global Warming and Climate Change. She has served as a consultant to numerous national organizations on issues related to land use including the National Governors Association, the International City-County Managers Association, the American Institute of Certified Planners, the National Academy for Public Administration, and the American Planning Association.

An author of more than 100 books, articles, chapters, and columns on various aspects of land use and community development law, Salkin has been honored with the Hugh Pomeroy Award for zoning achievement by the New York Planning Federation and the Bernard E. Harvith Award in Environmental Law from Albany Law School. She has also been recognized by the American Bar Association with the Jefferson Fordham Award in state and local government law.