Italian Heritage In Essex County: 2 Honorees Have Ties To Newark

NEWARK, NJ — Two community leaders in Essex County with ties to Newark were recently honored at the county’s annual Italian American Heritage Month celebration.

The 2023 event – held last week at the Essex County Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Building – paid tribute to Sallyanne Floria, a retired Essex County assignment judge, and Ralph Ciallella, a retired Essex County administrator.

Both received “Stellas della Contea di Essex” (Stars of Essex County), which recognizes them for their “commitment to improving the lives of all residents and their community involvement.”

“I am thrilled to be honored today,” said Floria, who reminisced about growing up in Newark and the Italian culture of her grandparents and parents.

“This is a great moment for me and my family,” Ciallella agreed. “This really means a lot.”

According to Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., the annual celebration is an opportunity to recognize the contributions that Italian Americans have made to the history and culture of the area.

“Today, we are honoring two proud Italian Americans who have positively impacted our world and our county,” DiVincenzo said. “Judge Sallyanne Floria and Ralph Ciallella each have made an impact on their communities and have continuously improved the quality of life for our residents.”

Here’s why each honoree earned a nod this year, according to a news release from the county:

SALLYANNE FLORIA

Hon. Sallyanne Floria was the assignment judge for the Essex Vicinage of Superior Court. She was appointed as a judge in 1998 and first served in the Criminal Division for two years before being transferred to the Family Division where she served from 2000 to 2015. While there, she was named presiding judge of the Family Division and oversaw 11 dockets which came under the Family umbrella including abuse and neglect cases, guardianship matters and adoptions. She was elevated to Assignment Judge in 2015 and retired in February 2021, after almost 23 years on the bench. For more than 20 of those years, she handled cases that addressed the needs of children and families involved in the child welfare system.

Floria earned her bachelor’s degree from Fordham University and her J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law. After graduating from law school, Floria began her legal career as an assistant prosecutor in the Office of the Essex County Prosecutor. In 1981, she and her husband became partners in Floria and Callori, where she worked until her judicial appointment in 1998.

Her memberships have included serving as the past President of the New Jersey Chapter and past Director of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. She is a former Chair of the Conference of Family Division Presiding Judges, the Children in Court Improvement Committee and the Essex Vicinage Facilities and Securities Committee. She served on the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Education for more than 10 years. She was a member of the Supreme Court Family Practice Committee and Chaired the CIC/Juvenile Subcommittee.

Since retiring, Judge Floria has become involved in civic activities. She serves on National CASA/GAL's Judicial Leadership Council and the Child Welfare Juvenile Law Advisory Committee for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Judges. She is a member of the Board of Trustees for Partnership for Children of Essex, the United Way of Greater Newark and CASA of New Jersey and serves on the Governance Committee for United Way and CASA Boards. She also serves on the New Jersey Four Branch Institute.

RALPH CIALLELLA

Ralph Ciallella and the County Executive were childhood friends, and both started working at The North Ward Center in Newark in 1975.

Ciallella was involved in the administration and operation of the Center and oversaw a myriad of programs to benefit senior citizens and children, to provide job training and English as a Second Language courses for adults and to improve the quality of life for those in the community.

In 1979, he became a part-time aide for members of the Board of Freeholders (now called the Board of Commissioners) and later served as a part-time aide for the NJ Senate President and other members of the NJ State Senate. When DiVincenzo took office in 2003, Ciallella became the Assistant County Administrator and later the County Administrator before retiring in 2017.

Although retired, he came back in a part-time role to help oversee the construction of the Essex County Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Building that opened in 2021 and the Essex County Wynona Lipman Family Courts Building that is currently under construction.

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