Expertise and Skillsets

• Government Relations and Stakeholder Engagement: bringing elected officials, agencies, and community partners together around shared goals

• HUD Grants Management: CDBG, HOME, HOME-ARP, and HOPWA planning, compliance, and reporting (Consolidated Plans, Annual Action Plans, CAPERs, eCon Planning Suite)

• Legislative and Policy Analysis: following legislation and explaining what
  it means

• Strategic Planning: guiding multimillion-dollar initiatives from plan to completion

• Policies and Standard Operating Procedures: helping municipalities stay compliant and run efficiently

• Public-Private Partnerships: putting together partnerships that bring in funding and investment

• Market and Financial Analysis: finding opportunities and making budgets go further

• Data-Driven Decision-Making: using current data to guide investments and track results

Relevant Experience

• Legislative Affairs, NJEDA (April 2025–present), Senior Advisor: bill analysis, outreach to legislators and stakeholders, coordination across program teams

• Senior Advisor, Community Development/Equitable Investments, NJEDA (October 2023–March 2025)

• PY2026 CDBG Annual Action Plan, Camden, NJ: drafted the full plan, including goals, homeless and special-needs sections, and the public hearing notice

• HOPWA Compliance and Administration, Lakewood Township, NJ: CAPER, subrecipient and sponsor agreements, municipal resolutions

• HOME-ARP Allocation Plans, Newark and East Orange, NJ: research, project management, writing, public and stakeholder engagement, leading to approved funding for affordable housing

• Five-Year Consolidated Plans, Newark and Camden, NJ

• Division of Community Services, Union County, NJ, Director: managed CDBG and community services programs and moved the division onto federal grant software

Brandon Givens has spent his career helping local governments turn federal funding into real projects: housing, jobs, and stronger neighborhoods. He joined the firm in 2020 and leads its economic and community development work. He helps cities and counties plan for, apply for, and manage Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs, including CDBG, HOME, HOME-ARP, and HOPWA. He has worked on Five-Year Consolidated Plans for Newark and Camden, HOME-ARP allocation plans for Newark and East Orange, and Camden's Program Year 2026 Annual Action Plan. He also handles ongoing HOPWA compliance for Lakewood Township. He knows the federal rules well, and he knows how to write a plan a city can actually carry out.

Since October 2023, Brandon has also worked at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). He started as Senior Advisor for Community Development and Equitable Investments. Since April 2025 he has been Senior Advisor for Legislative Affairs. Day to day, he reviews legislation, writes bill comments, coordinates with program teams, and talks with legislators and stakeholders across the state. He has seen firsthand how policy moves and what it takes to get people aligned. He brings that same approach to his clients: build relationships early, keep everyone informed, and stay focused on getting the project funded and finished.

Before joining the firm, Brandon spent more than a decade with Union County as Director of the Division of Community Services. He oversaw multimillion-dollar programs that reached thousands of residents, helping people find work, stabilize their finances and stay in their neighborhoods. He also moved the division onto federal grant software, which made spending and quarterly reporting much easier to track.

Colleagues and clients know him as someone who stays organized under pressure, communicates clearly, and keeps a close eye on the budget.

Noteworthy

• Lead New Jersey Fellow, Class of 2026

• New Jersey Democratic State Committee, Former Member

• NJ Young Democrats Executive Board, Former Central Vice President

• Community Outreach Committee, Union County Young Democrats, Former Chair

• Rahway Zoning Board of Adjustment, Former Commissioner