Tara B. Paxton, FAICP (she/her/hers)

Director of Land Use & Planning
Township of Brick
Brick, New Jersey

Tara B. Paxton, MPA, PP, FAICP has over 30 years of experience advancing the planning profession. She has served at the local, county and state levels as a generalist, environmental planner and grant writer who has secured over $100,000 in grant funds. As Township Planner for Brick, NJ, she leads initiatives in hazard mitigation, open space preservation, floodplain management, affordable housing, redevelopment, and land use for 75,000 residents.

Tara has taught at Kean and Rowan Universities and serves on Rowan’s Community and Environmental Planning Advisory Board. She holds degrees in Marine and Environmental Sciences and a Master of Public Administration. Tara is known for her leadership, innovation and commitment to mentoring future planning professionals.

Tara has volunteered at the Chapter, Divsion and Committee levels at APA and AICP. Her experiences in serving on a Planning Assistance Team in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, as a representative on the NJ Chapter of APA, and on the AICP Nominating Committee and more recently on the City Planning & Management Division Director Dialogue Series have brought richness and diversity to Tara's planning toolbox. She encourages planners everywhere to get involved wherever their time permits and thier interests take them.

Disclosure information not submitted.

Presentation(s):

• Get Involved: APA and AICP Leadership Opportunities

  Sunday, April 26, 2026
  9:30 AM - 10:15 AM CT