# Alana Sivin | Best in Government Affairs NY 2026

> Alana Sivin of New York Assembly Speaker's Office is a 2026 Best in Government Affairs New York honoree, recognized as Top Staffers of the Year.

Canonical: https://www.uslege.ai/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/2026/alana-sivin

---

[Best in Government Affairs](/best-in-government-affairs)› [New York](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york)› [2026](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york#honorees)› [Top Staffers of the Year](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/top-staffers)› **Alana Sivin**

USLege · Best in Government Affairs · New York

New York · 2026 Honoree

![Alana Sivin, Counsel to the Speaker at New York Assembly Speaker's Office — winner, Top Staffers of the Year, 2026 Best in Government Affairs New York](/assets/awards/ny-2026/alana-sivin.jpg)

Category

[Top Staffers of the Year](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/top-staffers)

Organization

New York Assembly Speaker's Office

Title

Counsel to the Speaker

[07 · Top Staffers of the Year](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/top-staffers)

# Alana Sivin

**Counsel to the Speaker**, New York Assembly Speaker's Office

Alana Sivin is Counsel to Speaker of the Assembly Carl E. Heastie, a senior advisory role in which she oversees legislative initiatives and plays a key part in negotiations around some of Albany's most consequential issues, including the state's immigration, criminal justice, and election reforms. The position puts her at the center of the Assembly's internal machinery, coordinating across government agencies, Assembly member offices, legal teams, and external stakeholders to move policy from negotiation to enactment.

That role draws on a career built at the intersection of criminal law and legislative advocacy. Sivin began as a public defender with New York County Defender Services, representing clients directly in the system she would later help reform from the inside. She moved into government by way of the New York City Council, serving as senior legislative counsel and drafting and negotiating the legislation that closed Rikers Island — one of the most closely watched criminal justice fights in recent New York City history.

Along the way, Sivin has also held senior positions at the Vera Institute of Justice, FWD.us, and The Appeal, three organizations central to the national conversation on criminal justice reform. That combination of frontline defense work, city-level legislative drafting, and advocacy-organization strategy now informs her work at the top of the Assembly Speaker's office, where she helps translate reform priorities into legislation that can actually pass both houses.

Same category

## More _Top Staffers of the Year_ honorees.

 [![](/assets/awards/ny-2026/godfre-bayalama.jpg) **Godfre Bayalama**New York State Department of Financial Services](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/2026/godfre-bayalama)[![](/assets/awards/ny-2026/evan-schneider.jpg) **Evan Schneider**Office of State Senator Jamaal Bailey, NYS Senate ](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/2026/evan-schneider)[![](/assets/awards/ny-2026/mark-kissinger.jpg) **Mark Kissinger**Profile coming soon ](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/2026/mark-kissinger)[![](/assets/awards/ny-2026/mary-anne-dandles.jpg) **Mary-Anne Dandles**NYS Assembly ](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/2026/mary-anne-dandles)[![](/assets/awards/ny-2026/darci-lindgren.jpg) **Darci Lindgren**Office of Assemblymember Charles D. Lavine, NYS Assembly ](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/2026/darci-lindgren)[![](/assets/awards/ny-2026/shalyn-ranellone.jpg) **Shalyn Ranellone**Office of Assemblymember John T. McDonald III, NYS Assembly](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/2026/shalyn-ranellone)

[All New York honorees](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york#honorees) [Top Staffers of the Year](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/top-staffers) [The September 16 ceremony](/best-in-government-affairs/new-york/ceremony)

The platform behind the awards

## Track the New York Legislature the way _honorees do_.

USLege covers the New York Legislature and New York City Council with live video, searchable transcripts, and cited AI answers, the same coverage Capitol Confidential Pro is built on.

[Explore USLege New York](/states/new-york) [Built for lobbyists](/for/lobbyists)