Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, announced today that Robert Florida, a veteran journalist and public-relations expert, was named Public Information Officer for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (ECPO).
Florida replaces Katherine Carter, who served as the Public Information Officer (PIO) for 12 years. Florida will manage all communications for ECPO, which is the largest and busiest prosecutor’s office in New Jersey when she retires on Aug. 1.
“We have complete confidence that Robert will work professionally with journalists, officials, and the public to promote our three-pronged mission: To seek justice, serve justice, and do justice,” said Prosecutor Stephens. “Katherine Carter promoted that mission admirably for 12 years. While ECPO will miss the exceptional services Kathy has given the office, we look forward to Robert following in her esteemed wake.”
Florida has extensive experience as both a journalist and a communications director. As a journalist, he wrote for Newsweek Magazine, the Village Voice, Newsday, as well as for several newspapers in New Jersey. He is also a former communications director for Columbia University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
Born in Newark, he was the first in his family to attend college (Rutgers University). He later earned a master’s degree from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, and a master’s in literature from Middlebury College. He also studied literature at Oxford University’s Lincoln College and has taught journalism and writing at three New Jersey colleges.
“It’s my honor and privilege to promote the mission of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, which is to serve justice so that our county is a safe place to live, work, and enjoy life,” said Florida.
