By Joshua Burd
Ann Brady, the executive director of PlanSmart NJ, will retire this spring after 25 years with the organization.
The board of the Trenton-based planning advocacy group on Monday announced Brady’s retirement and said it is conducting a search for her successor. She will remain in her current role through the end of the quarter and then will act in a consulting capacity as a senior adviser.
“(W)hile all of us regret Ann’s decision to retire, we appreciate her dedication and commitment to advancing PlanSmart NJ’s mission of making New Jersey a better place to live, work, and play,” Karen Jezierny of Princeton University, president of PlanSmart’s board of directors, said in a prepared statement. “Ann has been a dedicated employee for nearly 25 years and she brought a unique combination of planning and business skills to the organization.”
Jezierny added that the board thanks Brady “for her unfailing commitment and leadership during a critical period in the growth of PlanSmart NJ and wishes her well in the next chapter in her life.”
Brady joined the PlanSmart NJ, then known as MSM, in 1992 as a project planner with transportation and environmental planning experience. She has worked increasingly close with the state’s development community in recent years, having spearheaded key research projects such as the organization’s recent study on so-called stranded asset office properties in the state.
“During her tenure, Ann has become a credible and much sought-after voice for repurposing underutilized office and retail centers and has seen PlanSmart NJ become recognized as ‘the state’s leading independent planning organization,” said Richard Goldman of Drinker Biddle & Reath, immediate past board chair of the group.
