M-NCPPC Prince George’s County Planning Board Welcomes New Chair Kevin A. Anderson

A new but tested leader has come to the county.

Prince George’s County has entrusted one of its most influential public leadership positions to a veteran executive whose career has been defined by economic development, public policy, finance, and community investment.

Kevin A. Anderson was officially sworn in on July 27 as Chairman of the Prince George’s County Planning Board of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), beginning a four-year term that will place him at the center of many of the decisions shaping the county’s future. Appointed by County Executive Aisha N. Braveboy and confirmed by the Prince George’s County Council, Anderson succeeds former Chairman Darryl Barnes and presides over his first Planning Board meeting on July 30.

For Anderson, the appointment represents more than a leadership milestone. It is an opportunity to influence how one of Maryland’s fastest-growing jurisdictions evolves for generations to come.

"The work of the Planning Board is much more than approving site plans and reviewing development applications," Anderson said following his appointment. "It's about shaping future communities and connecting people to opportunities. It is important that everyone sees themselves in the future we are planning together."

That philosophy reflects a career spanning more than three decades in leadership roles across state and local government, higher education, housing, economic development, public finance, and the private sector. As Maryland's former Secretary of Commerce, Anderson directed statewide initiatives involving business investment, workforce development, tourism, infrastructure, international trade, and strategic planning. His executive experience also includes leadership positions with Cardinal Atlantic Holdings, City First Homes, EVERFI, Jair Lynch Companies, and the District of Columbia government.

His diverse background provides an unusually broad perspective for a position whose influence reaches nearly every aspect of daily life in Prince George's County.

The Prince George's County Planning Board is responsible for overseeing land-use planning, comprehensive zoning, subdivision approvals, and major development proposals while supervising the work of the county's Planning Department and Department of Parks and Recreation. Together with its counterpart in Montgomery County, the board also serves on the ten-member Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, a bi-county agency whose planning and park responsibilities extend across a region of more than two million residents.

Those responsibilities make the Planning Board one of the county's most consequential governing bodies. Decisions made by the board influence where housing is built, how transportation corridors develop, how natural and historic resources are protected, and where businesses, parks, schools, and public amenities will serve future generations.

M-NCPPC Chairman Artie Harris said he looks forward to collaborating with Anderson on priorities that will define the region's future, including housing, transportation, historic preservation, and environmental sustainability.

A Stanford University economics graduate, Anderson has also completed advanced professional studies in economic development, finance, and leadership through Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and the National Development Council.

As Prince George's County continues to experience rapid growth and new investment, Anderson now assumes leadership of an organization whose work extends well beyond planning maps and development approvals. The Planning Board's decisions help determine how communities grow, how residents connect to opportunity, and how the county balances economic progress with quality of life—making Anderson's appointment one of the county's most significant leadership transitions of the year.