Maria Comella will be deputy chief of staff for communications, Wayne Hasenbalg will be deputy chief of staff for policy and planning, Lou Goetting will be cabinet secretary, Rosemary Ianncone will be director of operations, and Michele Brown will be appointments council.
The appointments fill the major posts that remained to be made for Christie's inner circle before he takes office on Tuesday.
In December, the governor-elect named Rich Bagger as his chief of staff, Bill Stepien as deputy chief of staff, Jeff Chiesa as chief counsel, and Kevin O'Dowd as deputy chief counsel. Outgoing state Criminal Justice Director Deborah Gramiccioni was named director of the Authorities Unit.
"I am confident that the senior staff team we have assembled will work collectively to address New Jersey's most immediate challenges,'' Bagger said. "This is a talented, qualified group of individuals unafraid to voice their opinions and dedicate themselves to the hard work we have ahead of us."While attending George Washington University where she received a degree in international affairs Camilla worked in key positions on Capitol Hill. From there she held leadership roles on several presidential and gubernatorial campaigns, serving as New Hampshire communication's director for Bush-Cheney 2004 and as communications director in 2006 for Iowa gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Jim Nussle. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Comella served as Rudy Giuliani's deputy communications director, managing a 20-person staff. Most recently, Comella directed press relations for Christie's gubernatorial campaign. She is also currently pursuing a master's degree in health care policy at New York University.
Hasenbalg is a partner in the Teaneck office of the law firm of DeCotiis, Fitzpatrick & Cole. He rejoined the firm as a partner in 2008 and focuses his practice on regulatory affairs. For over 20 years, Hasenbalg has represented public and private sector client interests before all levels of New Jersey government including the executive and legislative branches of government, as well as county and local governments. Hasenbalg has been involved in large-scale capital projects on behalf of public and private sector clients, including county improvement authorities.
In addition to his legal career, Hasenbalg has extensive experience in state government. His roles have included acting as assistant to the chief counsel of the governor during the Kean administration, as well as chief of staff for state Attorney General Cary Edwards. He also served as Essex County treasurer. Hasenbalg received his degree from Gettysburg College in 1976. He received a master of public administration degree in 1978 from Penn State University and a law degree from Seton Hall Law School in 1984.
Goetting is currently the principal and founder of Goetting Ahead, which offers public policy consulting to both private and public clients. Previously, he was vice president of administration, operations and information technology at Brookdale Community College.
In this role, Goetting represented the college before the Legislature, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Council of County Colleges. He led the capital planning and development activities of the college, including the development of school's financing plans. From 1998-2002, Goetting was the vice president of administration at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey where he managed a workforce of over 1,000 employees and an annual budget of $70 million. He entered public service serving as both deputy and assistant state treasurer from 1994-1998. As assistant treasurer, he develop the nation's first statewide performance audit program directed at municipal and school operations Goettling earned a degree in government and law from Lafayette College and a masters in public administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Iannacone was formerly chief administrator at the U.S. attorney's office in Newark. She served there from June 2000 to December. Previously she held the same position at the U.S. attorney's offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn. As the chief administrator at the U.S. attorney's Newark office, Iannacone was the primary advisor to Christie for planning and managing the office, including a budget of more than $30 million. Among her duties was the management of 270 attorneys and staff, the budget, procurement, and information technology. Before becoming chief administrator in the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office, Iannacone rose from assistant systems manager, to budget officer, to deputy administrative officer. She lives in Monroe Township and is married with two children and two grandchildren.
Brown is an attorney who practiced in the white-collar criminal defense practice group at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter. Prior to joining the firm last year, she served for 18 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in Newark, most recently as acting first assistant. She also served as executive assistant U.S. attorney and counsel to U.S. Attorney Christie. She prosecuted public corruption, financial fraud, health care fraud, and money laundering offenses. She has received numerous awards from a host of federal agencies, including the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency. Brown received her degree from Drew University and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
– TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
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