Public advocate, attorney and former State Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo has been appointment to the Board of Trustees for Clara Maass Medical Center. Caraballo, who is the first member of the hospital’s Board of Trustees that is of Latino heritage, will serve a two-year term.
In 1995, Caraballo was elected to New Jersey General Assembly representing the 29th Legislative District. Currently a practicing attorney at the law firm of Gaccione, Pomaco P.C. in Belleville, Caraballo received an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from St. Joseph’s College and a Juris Doctorate from New York University. In 1986, he was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at New York University School of Law, and at Seton Hall Law School, Caraballo was a Professor of Law and Associate Dean from 1975 until 2016. As Public Advocate for the State of New Jersey from 1990 to 1992, Caraballo managed five government divisions entrusted with representing the public before the Board of Public Utilities, issues affecting the developmentally disabled and those affected by mental health issues, as well as general advocacy on behalf of the citizens of the state. He also served as a Public Defender, and helped to ensure that services provided by the Public Defender’s Office were consistent with statutory mandates.
Caraballo is a member of the Board of Trustees of Robert Treat Academy Charter School and he was also appointed as a member of the Newark Public School’s Advisory Board in 2005; he was also elected in 1987 to the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education. He is a member of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Caraballo and his wife Belinda live in Newark