Joseph Cella

Joseph James Cella ( ; born November 14, 1969) is an American diplomat and political advisor, who served concurrently as the United States Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu from 2019 to 2021. A prominent Roman Catholic, Cella co-founded the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.

Early life and education Cella was born on November 14, 1969, to Robert Cella and Janice Jean Rose. He was raised in Richmond, Michigan, and graduated from Hillsdale College in 1991. At Hillsdale, he was a part of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Political career Cella made his start in politics by managing two successful campaigns, and one failed campaign for three Republican Michigan state senators. He went on to work for Spencer Abraham as a political regional director in Michigan for five years. He was sworn in on November 25, 2019.

He said his main priorities within his first 30 days was to be a "very active, aggressive bridge builder, and public engager". On January 30 of next year, Cella met with Joseph Lengyel, then a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to "emphasize the importance of Fiji’s State Partnership Program with the Nevada National Guard".

Cella departed Fiji on January 20, 2021, after his resignation, leaving Tony Greubel as the chargé d’affaires.

COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cella received an additional $27.7 million and relief supplies for his ambassadorial countries from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Cella got Fiji's leading alcohol beverages manufacturer, Paradise Beverages (Fiji) Limited, to donate relief supplies to the Fijian community. General Manager of Paradise Beverages, Mike Spencer, said that "they were fortunate that the U.S. Embassy has come on board and contribute to this because if they did this themselves, they could not do it for long."

In May 2020, Cella's Embassy requested grant proposals to try to "support economic resilience" in Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu at the "grassroots level" during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants were accepted on August 27, 2020.

In July 2020, Cella joined Government of Fiji officials to launch “Health Care on Air". A radio program that attempted to "boost the capacity of health workers to protect themselves, [against COVID-19] and deliver quality health services to communities."

Personal life Cella lives in Augusta Charter Township, Michigan outside of Ann Arbor with his wife Kristen Renee, and their seven children.

Religious work Cella is a Roman Catholic. In 2004, he founded the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast along with Rick Santorum, and Leonard Leo, which they created in response to Pope John Paul II's call for a new evangelization. It has grown to over 700,000 members, as of 2019.