Meet the Planning Board Members
The Montgomery County Planning Board plans for livable communities by developing large and small scale plans, providing guidelines for the pattern and pace of future development and preserving historic resources throughout the 323,000-acre county.
From left: John Robinson, Jean Cryor, Royce Hanson, Amy Presley and Joe Alfandre.The Planning Board implements plans through its review of development applications and its subdivision decisions. The Board is also responsible for the development and management of Montgomery County's nationally recognized 32,900-acre park system.
The Montgomery County Planning Board, together with the Prince George's County Planning Board, comprise The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Royce Hanson
Planning Board Chairman, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Royce Hanson previously served as Planning Board chairman for ten years, from 1972 to 1981. Chairman Hanson has been involved in planning in a variety of positions including Research Professor and Director of the Center for Washington Area Studies, George Washington Institute of Public Policy at the George Washington University. He earned a BA in economics from the University of Central Oklahoma, an MA and PhD in government and public administration and a law degree from the American University. Learn more
John M. Robinson
Planning Board Vice Chairman and Commissioner
John M. Robinson, whose term will expire in June 2009, was appointed to the Commission in September 2001 and reappointed in June 2005. Until his appointment to the Planning Board, Commissioner Robinson was a member of the Planning Board-appointed Transportation Policy Task Force. Since 1988, he has served as a staff attorney with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, DC. Prior to that, he provided representation on real estate, finance and employment issues. And in his first federal career, he worked for 11 and a half years on the revitalization of the national railroad system. A citizen activist for many years, Commissioner Robinson has served as president of the following organizations: Rock Creek Hills Citizens Association; Noyes Children's Library Foundation; the Kensington Historical Society; and the Allied Civic Group. In addition, he has co-chaired the Silver Spring Redevelopment Advisory Board and the Montgomery County Infrastructure Finance Working Group. He also serves on the Board of the Washington Area Housing Partnership. Commissioner Robinson previously served on the Commission on the Future, 2000, the Board of the Allied Civic Group, and as Counsel to the Georgia Gateway Revitalization Corporation. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree in history from Swarthmore College, Commissioner Robinson earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars and a member of the Real Estate Committee.
Jean Cryor
Planning Board Member and Commissioner
Jean Cryor was appointed to the Planning Board in June 2007. Cryor, who lives in Potomac, was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1994 to 2006. As a civic activist, she has been named The Potomac Almanac’s Citizen of the Year, the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year and has served as the West Montgomery County Citizens Association president.
Joe Alfandre
Planning Board Member and Commissioner
Joe Alfandre, a self-described new urbanist, was appointed to the Planning Board in June 2008. A developer of the Kentlands project in Gaithersburg, Alfandre has worked on land use issues since 1997, focusing on master plans and zoning ordinances for local governments throughout the country. Alfandre is president and CEO of The Kentlands Co., a developer, builder and consulting team specializing in smart growth alternatives.
Amy Presley
Planning Board Member and Commissioner
Appointed in June 2008 to the Planning Board, Amy Presley is president of Synergies, Inc., a marketing, strategic planning and business development management company. Founding member of the Clarksburg Town Center Advisory Committee (CTCAC), Presley has been involved in numerous planning-related initiatives, including helping draft our Development Review manual and serving on an M-NCPPC-hosted growth policy panel.
Mission of the Montgomery County Planning Board
Read the board's semi-annual reports
For more information, please call the Planning Board's Community Outreach and Media Relations Office, 301-495-4600