The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office in Trenton on Wednesday announced updates to its executive leadership team in the Department of Law & Public Safety, including naming Angela Cai as executive assistant attorney general, Daniela Nogueira as chief counsel and Miae Park as interim chief of staff.
Attorney General Matt Platkin said he has worked with talented and dedicated staff since he was appointed to his post in February 2022. As two members of the leadership team have announced they are departing, it is time to welcome new members.
“Together, we have accomplished much to make New Jersey a safer place — but, there is also more work to be done. That’s why I’m excited to announce promotional appointments to existing members of my staff, and welcome new members of the team. Together, they bring a host of experience as tested litigators, thought leaders and policy experts to our office,” Platkin said.
Executive Assistant Attorney General Shirley Emehelu and chief of staff Jonathan Garelick are departing for other opportunities.
Emehelu has served as the third-ranking official in the office since May 2022, but has announced her departure from the office at the end of September. During her time as executive assistant attorney general, she has coordinated the work of the department’s civil litigation and regulatory units through the Division of Law, Division of Consumer Affairs and Division on Civil Rights. In that role, Emehelu has supervised significant litigation that has made a difference in the lives of New Jersey residents, including historic settlements on environmental justice matters, enforcement of the state’s Fair Chance in Housing Act, and pursuit of scammers and fraudsters using consumer protection laws.
Upon Emehelu’s departure, Cai, who has served as the deputy solicitor general since 2021, will be appointed as executive assistant attorney general. Cai has litigated a wide variety of complex cases on behalf of the state, including defending the state’s laws in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen. Prior to joining the office, Cai was an associate at Wilkinson Stekloff LLP in New York and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in Washington, D.C. She clerked for Judge Michael A. Chagares of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Cai graduated from Princeton University and Yale Law School.
Meanwhile, Garelick, who has served as chief of staff since July 2020, is departing the office to join the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, where he will serve as a special assistant U.S. attorney. There, Garelick will continue this office’s strong partnership with federal law enforcement counterparts as part of its collective strategy to suppress violence and prevent crime in and around the city of Trenton and across the state. He will begin his new role at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in October.
Nogueira will be the attorney general’s next chief counsel. Nogueira, serving as senior counsel since May 2022, has been the office’s point person on matters involving consumer protection, reproductive rights and social media accountability. She joined the office from the World Bank, where she advised data teams using machine learning to address biases and inefficiencies in legal systems around the world. She previously worked in the New York Attorney General’s Office overseeing complex civil litigation, including matters involving immigration and COVID-19. Nogueira clerked for the Hon. Analisa N. Torres for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and Hon. Richard A. Paez for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She received her A.B. from Harvard University and J.D. from Yale Law School.
Park will be appointed as interim chief of staff. Park joined the office in November 2022 and has overseen work in the Division of Administration, and the divisions of Alcoholic Beverage Control and Highway Traffic Safety. She previously served as the fiscal/administrative director of the ELC COVID-19 Response Activities at the New Jersey Department of Health, managing over $1.8 billion in federal COVID funds. Prior to DOH, she served under various capacities as a regulatory officer at the New Jersey Department of Human Services, where, among other things, she drafted policies affecting the state’s 21 county welfare agencies.
Nicholas Kormann will be appointed as deputy first assistant attorney general. Kormann, currently the director of investigations of fatal police encounters with the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, is a seasoned trial attorney and longtime public servant. Prior to joining OPIA, Kormann served for over a decade in the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, first as an assistant deputy public defender and then as first assistant deputy public defender in the Union Region. He clerked for the Hon. Ronald D. Wigler in the New Jersey Superior Court (Essex County) and worked as an associate attorney at Day Pitney LLP. Kormann received his J.D. from Rutgers Law School in Newark and his B.A. from Rutgers College.
Other appointments include:
- Hannah Butler will serve as the deputy chief of staff for operations
- Alessandra Baldini will be appointed as senior counsel to the attorney general
- Benjamin Notterman will join the office as senior counsel to the attorney general
- Jordan Shub will be appointed as adviser to the attorney general.
Other senior members of the attorney general’s leadership team will remain in the office.
