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

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

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), 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. A county usually has three to five ...

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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Voss was raised in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades. As of the 2020 Uni ...

and attended the local public schools. Voss graduated with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in 1962 from

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

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

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the 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 ...

. Accessed March 31, 2008. Voss taught at

Fort Lee High School Fort Lee High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade, located in Fort Lee, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the F ...

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 Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

, 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 university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

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

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

. She served on the Fort Lee Borough Council from 1993 to 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 environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

candidate

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

and Republican

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 Joseph Coniglio (born February 6, 1943) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 2002 until 2007, where he represented the 38th Legislative District. Coniglio, formerly a plumber, also served o ...

, 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''
200920082007200620052004

{{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 20th-century American educators 21st-century American women politicians American women academics 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature