Regional Plan Association announced that it has hired economic development specialist and former assistant New Jersey state treasurer Mark Lohbauer as the urban planning organization’s New Jersey director.

In his new role, Mark will lead RPA’s research, planning and advocacy activities in New Jersey. Prior to joining RPA, Mark was a principal at the economic consulting firm JGSC Group for 12 years. He has served on the Pennsauken Township Committee and as a county freeholder of Camden County. Mark was appointed assistant New Jersey state treasurer by Governor Christine Whitman. In that role, Mark helped devise policy on economic development programs throughout New Jersey, particularly in support of downtown retail. He was a member of the boards of directors of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority and the Urban Enterprise Zone Authority, among others.

Mark currently serves as a commissioner of the New Jersey Pinelands Commission, and sits on the Board of Trustees of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition.

RPA conducts research and policy analysis, advises communities and governments and advocates for change that supports New Jersey’s economy, infrastructure, environment and diversity. The organization sounded the alarm on the state of the trans-Hudson rail tunnels connecting New Jersey and New York City, encouraged the development of multifamily housing and identified ways to bolster economic activity and ease traffic congestion along key corridors. RPA’s work in New Jersey stretches back to the organization’s founding in the 1920s, when RPA was instrumental in the preservation of the Palisades. Today, RPA continues to work for the protection of open space in the New Jersey Highlands and the resilience of New Jersey’s communities to extreme storms and sea level rise.

If you would like to speak to Mark or another expert at RPA about issues facing New Jersey and the New York metropolitan region, please contact wpollack@rpa.org or ethenhaus@rpa.org.