Pou announces members of senior staff

Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), now in her second month representing New Jersey’s 9th district in Congress, has announced seven members of her senior staff, including many familiar faces from the office of her predecessor, the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson).

Ben Rich will be Pou’s chief of staff, the same job he held under Pascrell for nearly 20 years. A native of Montclair, Rich began working in Pascrell’s office in 1999, during the congressman’s second term in the House.

Also carrying over from Pascrell’s office is Mark Greenbaum, who will be Pou’s communications director and senior advisor; Greenbaum had been Pascrell’s communications director beginning in 2018. And Nancy Everett, a former caseworker and deputy district director for Pascrell, will be one of Pou’s senior caseworkers.

Three other members of Pou’s staff are coming with the congresswoman from her time in the state legislature, where she was an assemblywoman for 15 years (succeeding none other than Bill Pascrell after he was elected to Congress) and a state senator for 13 years.

Carol Cuadrado, Pou’s former chief of staff and legislative director in Trenton, will be Pou’s deputy chief of staff and district director now that she’s in Congress; Helen Torres, her former senior legislative aide and scheduler, will be Pou’s district scheduler; and Karen Brooks, another former legislative aide, will be Pou’s other senior caseworker.

Lastly, there’s Legislative Director Amanda Guiliano, the lone member of the senior staff not to come out of Pou’s or Pascrell’s old offices; Guiliano worked as the director of legislative affairs for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, and previously worked for Maryland Rep. David Trone.

“I am delighted my office has hired talented staff members to lead our offices in New Jersey and in our nation’s capital,” Pou said in a statement. “Our dynamic team brings decades of experience in local, state, and federal government that will be invaluable in delivering the service and providing the representation our neighbors deserve. The team will continue to expand in the weeks and months to come.”