On March 19, NAIOP New Jersey invited officials from the state government to speak to real estate developers at its annual Public Policy Symposium. This year, the speaker lineup consisted of three major appointees in the administration of Governor Mikie Sherrill (D), who took over at the beginning of this year after winning the 2025 gubernatorial election.

The first speaker was Kelli Doucette, the chief operating officer (COO) of the State of New Jersey. In this position, newly created by Sherrill, Doucette oversees strategic initiatives and ensures operational excellence. The second speaker, Kris Kolluri, serves as CEO of NJ Transit for a second consecutive administration. He discussed the importance to real estate development of improving transit infrastructure, a topic that is facing both opportunities and challenges at the state and local level across the U.S. and relates to one of NAIOP’s federal legislative priorities for 2026. Joseph Seebode, deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, concluded the speaker portion of the event. A panel discussion between three public policy professionals followed.

Sherrill has made permitting reform one of the top priorities of her administration, a facet of what she calls her “Save You Time and Money” agenda. Four of her first seven executive orders addressed this issue, including the creation of the office of the COO to streamline regulatory processes, instructing agencies to start work on real-time dashboards and shot clocks for the permitting process, and placing a 90-day freeze on new rules. By engaging officials from three vital departments to this effort, NAIOP New Jersey ensures that the commercial real estate development community will have a voice in the direction these reforms take.