Brett Tanzman

5th Annual Judith A. Hoffman Humanitarian Honoree

Brett Tanzman is a Principal at Garden Homes, a nationwide leader in retail, commercial and private residential development based in Short Hills, New Jersey.

Brett is also a member of the Wilf Law Firm, LLP.  Prior to joining Garden Homes and the Wilf Law Firm, Brett served as an Assistant Counsel to Governor Jon Corzine and Governor Chris Christie where he advised both Governors on various legislative and policy matters.

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Brett received his BA from Rutgers College and JD from Rutgers Law School where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law & Public Policy and as President of the Student Bar Association. He also received a Master’s of Governmental Administration from the University of Pennsylvania.  In the summer after his junior year at Rutgers, Brett interned for then Senator Joseph Biden on the Majority Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  Prior to law school, Brett worked as a Deputy Finance Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

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Brett is involved with a number of organizations and institutions holding various positions including: member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ; Vice Co-Chair of Philanthropy for the Jewish Federations of North America’s National Young Leadership Cabinet; Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Foundation in New Brunswick, NJ; member of the Executive Committee of the Rutgers Business School Center for Real Estate’s Advisory Board; and member of the Deans Law Council at Rutgers Law School.  Brett served as a member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. In addition, Brett has been a part-time lecturer at Rutgers Business School in Newark, New Jersey, where he co-taught a course on real estate law. 

Brett and his wife, Elana, and their three girls, live in Millburn, New Jersey.