Joan M. Voss (born August 21, 1940) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician who served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

from 2004 until 2012, representing the 38th Legislative District. Voss was elected to the

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Board of County Commissioners A county commission (or a board of county commissioners) is a group of elected officials (county commissioners) collectively charged with administering the county government in some states of the United States; such commissions usually comprise ...

in 2011 after choosing not to seek reelection to her Assembly seat.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Voss was raised in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, th ...

and attended the local public schools. Voss graduated with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1962 from

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, ...

(History and English), an M.A. in 1971 from Montclair State University (Education) and received an

Ed.D. The Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.; Latin ''Educationis Doctor'' or ''Doctor Educationis'') is (depending on region and university) a research or professional doctoral degree that focuses on the field of education. It prepares the holder for a ...

from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

(Education).Assemblywoman Voss's legislative web page

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

. Accessed March 31, 2008. Voss taught at

Fort Lee High School Fort Lee High School is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school that serves students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grade, located in Fort Lee, New Je ...

beginning in 1963. She served as Departmental Assistant of the Social Studies and English Departments from 2000 to 2003. She had previously functioned briefly as the Departmental Assistant of the combined Science, Math and Guidance Departments in 1992. In 1983, she developed a humanities program to help prepare students for college in the areas of philosophy, ancient history,

the classics The Classics were an American vocal group formed in 1958 in Brooklyn. The Classics first sang together in high school; two of them had previously sung in a group called The Del-Rays. In 1959, under the auspices of manager Jim Gribble, they record ...

, ethics, and European and Asian history and culture. The Humanities Course was offered for credit at several colleges and universities. She has been an adjunct professor at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

, Saint Peter's College, and Edward Williams College of

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

. She served on the Fort Lee Borough Council from 1993-2004. Voss is a member of the Fort Lee Municipal Alliance Committee, which coordinates community and school activities and served on the Borough's Board of Ethics. In the 2003 election for the General Assembly, Voss and running mate Robert M. Gordon unseated the incumbents,

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

candidate

Matt Ahearn Matthew Ahearn is an American politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 38th legislative district from 2002 to 2004. Ahearn represented a district which covers an area between the Passaic and Hudson Riv ...

and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Rose Marie Heck Rose Marie Heck (born August 4, 1932) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, from 1988 to 1995 and again from 2008 to 2015. Career Heck has served on the South West Community Development Committee ...

. (Heck did not run for reelection, instead choosing to run for the district's State Senate seat that year and losing to Joseph Coniglio, while Ahearn had changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Green while serving). Voss served in the Assembly on the Education Committee (as Vice Chair), Higher Education Committee, the Regulated Professions Committee and the Joint Committee on the Public Schools. Due to redistricting, which moved her hometown of Fort Lee to the 37th district, Voss did not run for reelection in 2011 and was replaced on the ballot by Tim Eustace. Instead, she ran for and won a seat on the

References

External links

Assemblywoman Voss's legislative web page

*''New Jersey Legislature financial disclosure forms''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Voss, Joan 1940 births Living people County commissioners in New Jersey Fairleigh Dickinson University faculty Fordham University alumni Montclair State University alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Fort Lee, New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Saint Peter's University faculty Seton Hall University faculty Women state legislators in New Jersey 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women academics