(Jersey City, NJ—January 11, 2021)—Sakina Spruell Cole has been named chief of staff to New Jersey Assemblywoman Angela V. McKnight (D-Hudson County) after serving as her Communications Advisor since 2019, handling communications strategy and media relations.

Sakina will add significant value to the team in the role of chief of staff,  bringing more than a decade of political consulting experience to the team and a wealth of media experience. Sakina is an accomplished business journalist who has served as a producer at CNBC and CNN, and an editor and contributor for Black Enterprise,  Essence, Forbes and a wealth of others. She is also the founder of Cole Media Inc, a boutique communications firm that has handled the political communications strategy for many elected officials in New Jersey to include Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, former Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and New Jersey Assembly Members Shavonda Sumter (D-Passaic County), and Britnee Timberlake (D-Essex County), among many others since 2005.

“I’m really excited about working with Assemblywoman McKnight because I know she is truly committed to improving the conditions in the neighborhood where I grew up and for others who live in similar communities throughout the state,” says Sakina who was born and raised in Jersey City and graduated from Ferris High School in 1988. She is also a graduate of Rutgers University-New Brunswick and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

“I have seen Assemblywoman McKnight’s sincerity firsthand by working with her for more than a year already; she is genuinely concerned about improving social justice and the financial well-being of Black people. That truly excites me,” says Sakina.

Sakina replaces Regina Appolon, who left her post with McKnight in 2020 to join a public affairs group.