New Jersey Future Blog
Farewell Spotlight: Chris Sturm Retires After 23 Years of Championing a Better New Jersey
July 15th, 2025 by Valerie Merritt
Chris Sturm, policy director, land use (left) with Valerie Merritt, communications manager (right)
As we bid a fond farewell to Chris Sturm, policy director and longtime advocate at New Jersey Future, we celebrate a legacy of leadership rooted in passion, persistence, and purpose. Chris has been a driving force behind some of New Jersey Future’s most successful initiatives—from promoting equitable water infrastructure to championing great places to live.
On her final day, Chris sat down with me to reflect on what she’s most proud of, what she’s learned, and what she hopes for the future. Below are excerpts from our conversation.
🌟 A Legacy of Meaningful Work
Q: As you reflect on your 23 years at New Jersey Future, what accomplishments stand out most for you?
I’m especially proud of three things. The first, participating in the founding of Jersey Water Works (JWW). It became a vibrant space where people truly connected around water infrastructure—something most people don’t think about until it fails. We created high-energy collaborations that bring much-needed attention and problem-solving to safe drinking water and healthy waterways.
Second, collaborating with amazing leaders to help craft and pass one of the nation’s strongest laws to replace lead service lines in every New Jersey home. Others are now working hard on implementation so every child can grow up free from lead poisoning.
More recently, I’ve helped build New Jersey Future’s capacity to tackle housing and neighborhood issues. Expensive legacy structures like home rule make this challenging, but today, we are positioned to lead through the Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All collaborative—and help people not just live somewhere, but love where they live.
Throughout this work, wonderful people have said “yes ” to providing funding, joining the NJF team, and working in partnership.
🏘️ Redefining Livability
Q: Over the years, New Jersey Future has helped define what makes a great place to live. How has your thinking on livability evolved?
When I was young, I moved to remote areas: the foothills of the San Francisco Bay Area and the edge of NJ’s Sourland Mountain, lured by natural beauty. But I quickly learned that what seemed like an idyllic rural lifestyle actually involved a lot more time behind the steering wheel. I ultimately moved from those places to walkable, well-connected neighborhoods. Of course, I still drive, but not nearly as much. When my three kids were young, it was easy to arrange short-distance carpools, and later push them out the door to walk and bike. Better for all of us! Now, I join my husband on his stroll home from work.
🤝 Lessons from the Work and the People
Q: What are some powerful lessons you’ve learned from this work and from those you’ve served?
New Jersey Future is a fantastic place to work because the staff have room to try new things. We have learned how to bring people from different perspectives together, identify shared goals, dig into areas of disagreement, listen carefully, and come up with practical policy solutions. When combined with thoughtful research and compelling communications, sometimes, “Voila”, change happens.
We may not hold formal power in New Jersey, but we have ideas and influence—and that’s powerful.
None of NJF’s major accomplishments would have happened without Pete Kasabach. He works closely with staff to shape projects, enlists outside support when needed, and artfully steers the conversation in meetings. I couldn’t ask for a better boss.
🔁 When Perspective Shifts
Q: Can you share a moment when your perspective shifted in a meaningful way when new information was received, or a collaboration reshaped your thinking?
Absolutely. Working alongside NJF staff to learn how to advance JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) was eye-opening. It’s easy to think you’re committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion until you sit in a room and really listen to people of color and people from very different backgrounds–and then listen to yourself. Those conversations were humbling. They taught me how to be comfortable with discomfort and deepened my understanding of white privilege. I also realized how lucky I was to get out of my “bubble” and spend time with people of different ages, backgrounds, and experiences. I don’t want that to change in retirement!
⚖️ Justice + Livability: A Shared Path
Q: You’ve been a champion for equitable growth and inclusive planning. How do you see the relationship between livability and justice play out in New Jersey’s future?
There’s an arc of justice in our work, and I believe an arc of livability, too. In the late 1980s, I wrote my master’s thesis on the conflict between open space preservation and compact “smart” development, hoping to find a clever way to reconcile them. (Ha.) Almost 40 years later, parts of that conversation have evolved, but, as we see in the controversies over affordable housing, we still have a long way to go in New Jersey. I’m very grateful to the people leading the charge on these tough issues.
💌 A Note to Her Younger Self
Q: If you could send a message to yourself on your first day at New Jersey Future, what would it say?
I love this question.
After time in the corporate world and some soul-searching, I finally found my “why”—and I’m so grateful I also found my way to New Jersey Future.
I would tell the younger me: Be patient with yourself. Professional growth takes time, and you will learn by doing and making mistakes. I worked hard on projects that had zero impact: legislation to create “Smart Housing Incentive Zones,” which advanced only to be killed overnight by powerful opponents; two failed attempts to update the NJ State Plan; and the successful passage of legal reforms regarding Transfer of Development Rights and noncontiguous clustering, which no one has used. Ouch. Experiences like these taught me a few things: build power, move faster, and focus on what matters.
✨ Final Words of Wisdom
Q: Any last thoughts or encouragement for your younger self, or for those younger colleagues you’re leaving behind, and what are your hopes for the next generation of New Jersey Future leaders?
My last thoughts would be that it’s OK if you really dislike your job one day a week—you probably will. Just make sure to keep connecting with the excitement of what’s possible, the inspiration from others’ breakthroughs, and the satisfaction of working together to make the frustrating but wonderful state of New Jersey a little bit better.
As Chris begins her next chapter, we extend our deepest gratitude for her years of wisdom, warmth, and unwavering dedication. New Jersey is more just, livable, and forward-looking because of her work—and we are better for having walked alongside her.
Thank you, Chris. We wish you all the best in your retirement.
Tags: Affordable housing, changemakers, diversity equity and inclusion (DEI), equity, Housing, Jersey Water Works, lead service line replacement, neighborhoods, Smart Growth, walkable communities, water infrastructure, women leaders