Lori Grifa | |
---|---|
Appointed by | Chris Christie |
Succeeded by | Rich Constable |
Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs | |
Personal details | |
Born | Lori Grifa |
Political party | Democratic |
Alma mater | Rutgers University Boston College School of Law |
Lori Grifa is a judge of the Superior Court of the State of New Jersey,assigned to the Family Court Division of the Essex County vicinage. She was nominated by Governor Phil Murphy to the position on December 13,2021 and confirmed by the New Jersey Senate on January 10,2022.
Prior being appointed to the bench,Grifa was an attorney in private practice and a partner at Archer &Greiner,PC. She was formerly a partner at Wolff &Samson,PC,a law firm founded by former NJ Attorney General David Samson. Grifa served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs in 2010 to 2012 during the governorship of Chris Christie. [1] [2]
Raised in Toms River,New Jersey, [3] Grifa graduated Toms River High School East graduating in 1981. [4] In 1985,she earned her BA cum laude,from Rutgers University,where she was a Henry Rutgers Thesis Scholar and member of Phi Beta Kappa. Grifa graduated from the Boston College School of Law in 1988,and served as law clerk to Judge Elbert Tuttle of the Massachusetts Superior Court. She is a member of the Bar in New York,New Jersey,Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
She was a special assistant district attorney in the Homicide Investigation Unit of the New York County District Attorney's Office for two years and was a senior assistant district attorney in the Office of the Brooklyn District Attorney in New York City. from 1989 to 1997,where she specialized in homicide and gang-related prosecutions. [5] [6]
From 2002 to 2003,Grifa served as chief of staff to New Jersey Attorney General David Samson. In that capacity,she was responsible for managing the New Jersey Department of Law &Public Safety. [5] [6]
Grifa was appointed by the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court to the Committee for Women and the Courts and the State Domestic Violence Working Group as District V-A Attorney Ethics Committee,on which served a four-year term from 2008 to 2012. [5] [6]
Grifa served in Governor Chris Christie's Cabinet as the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs from 2010 until her resignation on January 2,2012. [8] During her tenure,she also chaired the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission,the New Jersey Redevelopment Agency,the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing and the New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency. [6]
Barbara A. Buono is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 2002 to 2014,where she represented the 18th Legislative District. She served from 2010 to 2012 as the Majority Leader in the Senate,succeeding Stephen Sweeney,and was succeeded by Loretta Weinberg. She is a member of the Democratic Party and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New Jersey in the 2013 general election,which she lost to Republican incumbent Chris Christie.
James Patrick Fox was an American politician and political strategist. He twice served as New Jersey Commissioner of Transportation and also worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
David Samson is an American lawyer who served as New Jersey Attorney General under Democratic Governor Jim McGreevey from 2002 to 2003. He served as the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) from 2011 until his resignation on March 28,2014 in the aftermath of the Fort Lee lane closure scandal. Samson is a partner and founding member of the law firm Wolff &Samson from which he resigned in April 2015,and had been an ally of Governor Chris Christie.
Deborah Tobias Poritz is an American jurist. She was the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1996 to 2006,and was the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1994 to 1996,in both cases becoming the first woman to serve in that position.
Kimberly Ann Guadagno is an American lawyer and politician who served as the first lieutenant governor and 33rd secretary of state of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018.
Paula T. Dow served as the 58th Attorney General of New Jersey,appointed by incoming Governor Chris Christie. Her nomination to a full term was confirmed by the New Jersey Senate in February 2010. She is the first African-American woman to be attorney general in state history.
Harriet E. Derman is an American Republican Party politician who was elected to two terms in the New Jersey General Assembly,where she represented the 18th Legislative District from 1992 to 1996. She later served as head of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs,legal counsel and as chief of staff to Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman,and later served as a New Jersey Superior Court judge.
Richard E. Constable III is an American lawyer who was the 16th Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs,serving from 2012 to 2015. A former Assistant US Attorney,he was also the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Jeffrey Scott Chiesa is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from June 10,2013 to October 31,2013. As a member of the Republican Party,he previously served as the 59th Attorney General of New Jersey from January 10,2012 until June 6,2013.
Faustino J. Fernandez-Vina is an Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Fernandez-Vina was nominated to the Supreme Court by Governor Chris Christie on September 30,2013,and was sworn into office on November 19,2013,following confirmation by the New Jersey Senate.
The Fort Lee lane closure scandal,also known as the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal or Bridgegate,was a political scandal involving a staff member and political appointees of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie colluding to create traffic jams in Fort Lee,New Jersey,by closing lanes at the main toll plaza for the upper level of the George Washington Bridge.
Kevin O'Dowd is a New Jersey public servant and political figure who served as Chief of Staff to the Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie. He was considered,but not formally nominated,for the position of Attorney General of the State of New Jersey.
Philip Kwon is deputy counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a previous nominee for the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Richard Mroz "Rick" is the founder and Managing Director of Resolute Strategies,LLC and also Senior Director for Strategic &Regulatory Affairs at Archer Public Affairs in Trenton,NJ. He stepped down from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to start his firm. He has a long and distinguished career in law,government,and public service and a leading advocate in securing and making the grid more resilient from both cyber and physical attacks. He is a regular adviser to industry and frequent commentator on energy and security issues. He is the immediate past President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Governor Chris Christie nominated him for this position on September 18,2014;the nomination was unanimously approved by the New Jersey Senate on September 22,2014. Due to his position,Mroz was a member of the Governor's Cabinet. His experiences are as a regulator,lawyer,lobbyist,banker,consultant and thought leader on issues including energy markets &technologies,cybersecurity,water &wastewater policy,and infrastructure development &financing in various industries.
Hazel Sara Frank Gluck is an American Republican Party politician and lobbyist who served in the New Jersey General Assembly and held several posts in the cabinet of Governor Thomas Kean. She was a top advisor to NJ Governor Christine Todd Whitman as well as a founding member of one of NJ's largest lobbying firms.
Walter Francis Timpone is a former Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court,having been sworn on May 2,2016. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by Governor Chris Christie and confirmed by the New Jersey Senate in April 2016. He resigned on August 31,2020.
Christopher S. Porrino is an American trial lawyer who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 2016 to 2018. Porrino is currently a partner of Lowenstein Sandler,and chair of the firm's Litigation Department.
Jennifer Velez is the former Human Services Commissioner for the state of New Jersey. As Commissioner,it was she oversaw New Jersey's Department of Human Services. She served as Commissioner from 2007 to 2015 under Governors Jon Corzine and Chris Christie.
Kimberly Ricketts is a New Jersey politician. She served as New Jersey's Commissioner of Families and Children under Governor Jon Corzine.
Stephanie Regina Bush-Baskette,also known as Stephanie R. Bush,is an American attorney and Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 27th district from 1988 to 1992.