Debbie Herr Cornwell joined the Maryland Department of Planning in April as a resource conservation planner. She is serving as the Secretary’s representative on the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation Board and the Critical Area Commission. As the Department lead for the Transfer of Development Rights initiative, Debbie has been reaching out to county and municipal jurisdictions to discuss how a TDR program can benefit them, the variety of approaches for implementing TDRs, and methods for developing county-municipal TDR programs. She will also be supporting the Department’s work on Chesapeake Bay issues, Climate Change and the Patuxent River.

Originally from Cape May County, New Jersey, Debbie has lived on Maryland’s Eastern Shore since 1995; working most recently for the Caroline County Department of Planning and Codes as Assistant Director of Planning, Long Range and Agricultural Planner and Critical Area Program Manager. Prior to working for Caroline County, she was in private practice with Herr Landscape Architecture where she developed and managed a wide variety of design projects, including the Egypt Road Restoration Project in Dorchester County. Debbie is a licensed Landscape Architect in Maryland and New Jersey and a graduate of Temple University and Rutgers University – Cook College.

Contact Debbie at deborah.herrcornwell@maryland.gov