New Jersey is in the final stretch of the legislative session, and the pace reflects it. Priorities are moving, timelines are tightening, and everyone is trying to close out what they can before a new Legislature arrives in January 2026.

At the same time, the new governor’s transition teams are taking shape, and the focus is shifting toward who will land where in the administration. It’s a moment of acceleration and uncertainty — the system shifting its weight in real time.

New Jersey is entering the most volatile part of the cycle: the transition. A governor-elect, shifting power centers, names circulating, roles whispered. Everything’s in motion; nothing’s settled.

I started a Vedic meditation practice earlier this year — twice a day, no exceptions — to stay grounded when the noise spikes. It’s paying off now. You can’t stop the speculation, but you can stop reacting to every rumor.

The Practice of Reflection explores how visibility and reflection shape civic and personal leadership. Coinciding with Election Day and a full moon, it considers how moments of public illumination reveal both progress and the need for recalibration — and why true leadership requires learning in the light, not just moving through it.

The new moon today feels like the calm before the political storm.

In New Jersey, with a governor’s race and the full Assembly on the ballot, everything’s in motion — and yet, we’re still waiting.

These quiet weeks test discipline: how to hold focus, measure energy, and lead with steadiness when outcomes are out of our hands.

Hawk Strategies, a leading New Jersey based consulting and government affairs firm with a focus on transportation and infrastructure, and TWENTYTWENTY Public Affairs, a boutique firm known for its expertise in environmental and clean energy policy, and stakeholder engagement are proud to announce a strategic partnership.

When it Comes to Information Sharing, More is Good
There is a new community tool from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The Contaminated Sites Explorer is an online mapping tool that allows users to zoom in to their community and search for known contaminated sites.

As we celebrate our 4th year, we are proud to look back on our accomplishments. We love seeing results for our clients.

Recent reporting cited a study that claimed NJ's recent single-use plastic bag ban wasn't working...well, that's not the whole story and the subsequent fall-out of uncovering the source of the study and the real impact of the ban makes an interesting lesson in how to critically assess the effectiveness of public policies, for yourself!

Federal funding propping up clean energy goals, decisions under the environmental justice rule, jump-starting recycling, revisiting clean energy standards, new legislators, and infrastructure funding needs

The benefits of collaboration go beyond the traditional outcomes we usually think about.

Running an effective campaign, one that is promoting an issue or a project or a change you are seeking is not easy, especially when you are managing a coalition of individuals and organizations.  Here are five tips for success.

By Elizabeth Schuster, Sustainable Economies Consulting

Debbie Mans, and Stacy McCormack, TWENTYTWENTY public affairs

Engaging stakeholders outside of your organization works; it creates better outcomes and increases your likelihood of success by building support for your initiative. Yet many nonprofit managers and government leaders get stuck on how to do effective stakeholder engagement around new programs, policies, or plans. We’ll walk you through why a customized approach matters and five mistakes to avoid.

Top 5 Things We are Watching in 2022

In the wake of Tropical Storm Ida elected officials have been calling for more resilient infrastructure and neighborhoods. But what does that mean?

New Jersey just moved to the forefront of protecting children from lead poisoning with the signing of three laws by Governor Murphy.

As we know, the global pandemic highlighted inequities across the state. Access to healthy and affordable food is an issue in our urban centers and other communities labeled “food deserts.” And the COVID pandemic has make it abundantly clear that not only is access to fresh healthy food an issue, but access to any food is an issue in some communities.

Bringing together a diverse set of experiences and perspectives will always lead to a lively discussion, and this was certainly the case with the recent Let’s PlantNJ virtual event.

The name of our firm pays homage to the 19th Amendment which gave women a voice in the political process 100 year ago.  It also references the year 2020 -- which was a year of pause, but also of change.

This past Fall, Debbie Mans, partner, TWENTYTWENTY public affairs, Clea Carchia, Executive Director of Rahway River Watershed Association, organized and co-hosted a virtual panel titled, “Representation Matters: Black and Brown Voices in New Jersey’s Environmental Community.”