Jeffrey P. Doshna, PhD, AICP, is Associate Professor and Program Head of Planning and Community Development at Temple University. He teaches courses in community and economic development, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and supervises the graduate planning studio.

Having previously served as a Borough Councilmember, he is the former Chairperson and current Vice-Chair of the Flemington Borough Planning Board. Since 2022, he has served as President of the Temple Association of University Professionals, the union representing nearly 2600 full- and part-time faculty, librarians and academic professionals at Temple. He also serves on the national Higher Education Program and Policy Council for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and is VP-Colleges for AFT Pennsylvania.

His primary research area is community economic development with a focus on community development finance. Currently, he is researching the influences of neoliberalism on the practice of community development; his doctoral dissertation examined the development of the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative which supported the construction of supermarkets in low-income neighborhoods. He has previously conducted research on microenterprise development, state economic development policy, and efforts to promote entrepreneurship in low-income neighborhoods. He has participated in grant-based research for the US EPA, Penn DOT, NJ Department of Human Services, the US Economic Development Administration, the International Labour Organization, and has been published in the Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship.

Dr. Doshna is also actively engaged in planning practice. He has served on the Flemington (NJ) Planning Board since 2006, supporting the creation of its affordable housing element, its sustainability element, as well as the latest revision to the Borough’s Master Plan in 2022. He was a founding member of the Flemington Environmental Commission in 2008, authored Flemington’s Natural Resource Inventory (2010), and served as Chair for 3 years. As a leading member of the town’s Green Team, he led the effort for its initial Bronze-level certification within the Sustainable Jersey Program in 2011. He regularly volunteers his time and expertise to other local planning initiatives and serves on the boards of several community non-profits. He also works as a planning consultant.

Education

• BA, Economics, The Johns Hopkins University, 1996
• BS, Geography, The Johns Hopkins University, 1996
• MCRP, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 2002
• PhD, Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 2015

Selected Work

Doshna, J; Cowel, M; Rishi, S; Tian; G; Yu, S; Ramasubramanian, L (2023). ACSP New Teaching Models & Practices Task Force Update. Task force leader, session moderator, Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Chicago, IL.

Benhardt, Doshna, et al (2020). Calling All Students: What’s your path forward? Presenter and session co-organizer, Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association. Virtual conference

Doshna, J.P. (2019). Planning in the Shadow of Giants: A discussion about the experiences of small planning programs. Presenter and session co-organizer, 59th Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Greenville, South Carolina, USA.

Doshna, J.P. (2019). Learning Outcomes: Development and measurement. Invited Panelist, 59th Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning Greenville, South Carolina, USA.

Doshna, J.P., Purdy, T., O’Leary, T. (2018). Placemaking in the Suburbs: Developing and Implementing an Arts-Based Economic Development Plan for Lansdowne. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association. Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.

Doshna, J.P. (2016). Community Development in the Age of Neoliberalism: The case of the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. Presented at the 56th Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. Portland, Oregon, USA.

Servon, L. J. & Doshna, J. P. (2000). Microenterprise and the economic development toolkit: A small part of the big picture. Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 5(3), 183-208.

Doshna, J. P. (2000) Questioning the Entrepreneurial State. An examination of state economic development policy. Presented at the 42nd Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Servon, L. J.& Doshna, J. P. (2000). Structuring and Sustaining the Relationships that Support U.S. Microenterprise Programs. A contribution to the ILO Action Programme: “Enterprise Creation by the Unemployed – The Role of Microfinance in Industrialized Countries.” Geneva: International Labour Office