Meet the Planning Staff

by Kristen E. Humphrey, MLA, Local Assistance and Training Planner

The Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) is pleased to welcome the first of three recent new hires, Aviva Klugh. (A clue: sounds like “clue”!). Aviva is the new regional planner for Central Maryland covering Baltimore City and  Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties. She joined planning in November 2021.

Aviva comes to Planning with extensive experience in transportation and environmental planning, capital programming, grants management, state programs, and economic development through her experience in the private sector and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), among other state agencies. About joining the team, Aviva says “I’m excited to apply my state government planning experience to the Central Region and to dive into local planning issues.”

With an undergraduate degree insociology and environmental studies from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and a master’s degree in community planning from the University of Maryland, Aviva is a planner in both education and trade, and is AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) certified.

Aviva is native to Maryland and currently lives with her husband, Justin, and their cat, Milkshake, in Baltimore City where they just purchased their first home. On weekends, they enjoy hiking together — they have been working on the impressive goal taking a hike in every Maryland state park — and always incorporate hiking into their vacations.

Aviva also loves spending time with her horse, King, who lives at her parent’s house. She says, “This means I grew up with a horse in my backyard,” no doubt making her the envy of every little girl ever. A final fun fact about Aviva is that she is a big reader. She read 142 books last year, and her goal this year is to top it at 150. We hope she keeps us posted on her progress…no pressure, though!

Welcome to Planning, Aviva!