Leigh Ann Von Hagen, AICP, PP, is a state and nationally licensed professional planner with more than 25 years of experience advancing transportation, land use, environmental, and public health planning. She is committed to strengthening healthy, inclusive, and sustainable communities through applied research, evidence-based design, and collaborative engagement with agencies, practitioners, and community stakeholders.
As Executive Director of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Ms. Von Hagen leads interdisciplinary teams that deliver research, policy development, technical assistance, and professional training. Her work informs decision-making across sectors and scales. A key focus of her current work includes supporting New Jersey’s Target Zero strategy, advancing a statewide commitment to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. She also develops planning tools, guidance, and curricula that are applied throughout New Jersey and nationally to strengthen Complete and Green Streets, Vision Zero, Health in All Policies, Health Impact Assessments, and innovative transportation funding strategies.
Ms. Von Hagen is recognized for forging strong cross-sector partnerships and delivering community-based solutions that translate research into practice. Her previous roles include directing the NJ Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School Resource Center and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Resource Center, and creating New Jersey’s statewide School Crossing Guard Training program. She is a founding member of the Bloustein Planning Healthy Communities Initiative, Sustainable Jersey, and the Mayors Wellness Campaign, and has also worked in the private sector on transportation policy analysis, roadway and trail design, and environmental risk communication.
Her work equips public agencies, private organizations, and nonprofits to deliver safer, more connected, and more resilient mobility networks—improving quality of life and advancing sustainability outcomes across the country.