Dr. Frances Hoffman serves Somerset Development as director of redevelopment, responsible for assisting the company in its overall approach toward its redevelopment projects involving public incentives and regulatory programs. Fran is also an integral part of Somerset’s efforts in expanding its brownfields redevelopment interests and portfolio.

Hoffman previously served as the Director of the Brownfields Program in the State Office of Smart Growth. There, she shaped the office into the state’s brownfields umbrella and central reference point. She expanded and chaired the Brownfields Redevelopment Interagency Team (BRIT), which received a State Award for Excellence in 2006, and spurred the reconvening of the New Jersey Brownfields Redevelopment Task Force, serving as an officer of the Task Force and promoting its active role in advising state brownfields policy.

Prior to her position with the state, she was Vice President for Planning and Research at the Institute for Responsible Management, which provided policy and program development support for the first 300 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Pilot Programs.

Hoffman received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from The Western College for Women, a master’s degree in social planning from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work and a doctorate from Rutgers University Department of Urban Planning and Policy Development. She has written a book and numerous articles on aspects of redevelopment, community involvement and brownfields. Dr. Hoffman also received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Greater Newark Conservancy in 2002, and is on the Board of Trustees of the Summit Civic Association. She serves as an adjunct faculty member at Rutgers University in the Cook College Center for Continuing Professional Education and the Bloustein School for Planning and Public Policy.