Snow Ball Gala 2024 Honorees

Art House is proud to honor State Senator, Angela V. McKnight; Jersey City HEDC Director, Annisia Cialone; and JC Director of Love & Leisure, Anthony "Dancing Tony" Susco at the 2024 Snow Ball Gala. We applaud their commitment to the Jersey City arts sector and Art House's new Performing and Visual Arts Center.

Angela V. McKnight was recently elected New Jersey State Senator after serving 8 years as the 1st African American Assemblywoman for the 31st District of the state of New Jersey. As Assemblywoman she sat on the following committees: Chairwoman of Aging & Senior Services, Vice Chair of Women & Children, and a member of Homeland Security and State Preparedness. She is an Assembly Deputy Majority Leader. Angela is the Founder & CEO of AngelaCARES, a 501c3 nonprofit with a mission to serve senior citizens, and their caregivers, and to mentor youth by educating and empowering them.

She is the owner of Care About You, LLC providing consulting services for the elderly population, and is CEO of Thank HER Now, LLC. Angela is an activist, advocate, author, entrepreneur, mentor, educator, innovator, and trainer who possesses a BS in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. She is a certified New Jersey State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), Board President of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, Member of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, Board President of Alliance Health Community Center, Vice-Chair of Greenville Community Partnership, Advisor Chair of Keyes Red Door Realty & Associates, committee member of the Coalition of Change of NJ, Advisory Member to several Community Schools in Jersey City, Vice-President of the Jersey City Community Charter School Board and Board Member of United Way of Hudson County, Advisor of Forever Girls Inc., and more.

Angela works with many community organizations and individuals helping the community with community feedings, youth empowerment, community giveback, and educational events. She is a Rising Tide Capital Community Business Academy Instructor and a One-On-One mentor. She is an alumnus of Rising Tide Capital Community Business Academy. She is also an Adjunct Professor at New Jersey City University.

Angela is married to her high school sweetheart. They have two wonderful children and a beautiful grandson!

Annisia Cialone serves as the Director of the Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce (HEDC) for The City of Jersey City.  The Department includes the Divisions of Economic Development, City Planning, Construction Code, Zoning, Community Development, Affordable Housing, Housing Preservation, and Commerce. Prior to her appointment as the Director of HEDC, she served as the Director of the Division of City Planning.

Prior to joining the City of Jersey City in 2017, she was a Senior Associate at Perkins Eastman. She has expertise in the management and design of large-scale urban design and strategic master planning projects for both public and private clients. 

Annisia holds a Bachelor of Architecture from The Cooper Union and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. She has also been a guest lecturer at NYU, Cornell University, NJIT, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Anthony “Dancing Tony” Susco, Founder of the Rock-it Docket. If you’ve been to a party, a rock concert, a big art opening or even a park sporting event in Jersey City over the past 10 years, there’s an excellent chance that Susco had a hand in it. He has acted as the booking agent of Groove on Grove, the music series that has brought rock and jazz to the Downtown PATH station plaza. He’s organized Shangri-La, a summer pop festival that took advantage of the beauty of the underutilized Owen Grundy Pier, which juts out into the Hudson River and offers breathtaking views of both New York and the Exchange Place skyline. He’s managed two of Jersey City’s most imaginative bands — the freewheeling Thomas Francis Takes His Chances and the visionary American Watercolor Movement. He has been major domo of the town’s ongoing Sunday volleyball game, and deejay at bars and parties all over the city.

His events are imaginative and take advantage of the possibilities of the distinctive Jersey City landscape: The pre-Halloween Ghost of Uncle Joe’s (named after a much-missed downtown rock club) has attracted hundreds to Harsimus Park cemetery for a now-annual night of music, food, walking tours and dress-up, and raised thousands of dollars for the cemetery’s historical preservation campaign.