Diana Ostroff

Diana Ostroff joined Ostroff Associates in 2011 and today serves as an owner and senior leader of the firm, co-leading its strategic vision and daily operations alongside her husband, Rick, while personally managing one of its largest client portfolios. As her nominators put it, she has become "one of New York's most effective and respected contract lobbyists," built on more than 30 years of experience advocating for the private sector, including prior roles at one of New York's largest regional chambers of commerce, the Life Insurance Council of New York, and the National Federation of Independent Business. She began her career as a lobbyist with The Business Council of New York State, managing legislative and regulatory initiatives spanning consumer products, e-commerce, financial services, and insurance.

That range was on full display this past legislative session, when Diana represented one of the world's largest retailers against a bill, part of the One Fair Price package, that would have banned grocery stores and pharmacies from using digital shelf labels. The bill's advocates had wrongly linked the technology to "surveillance pricing," claiming the labels secretly changed prices throughout the day; in reality, the labels contained no cameras and simply kept shelf and register prices in sync. Over four weeks, Diana corrected the misinformation, educated legislators, and built opposition — stopping the bill on the final day of session and protecting her client's investment. The prior session, she successfully passed legislation modernizing New York's CPA licensure requirements, negotiating with the State Education Department and legislative sponsors to keep the state's accounting profession competitive with evolving national standards.

Diana is also an innovation leader within the firm, building AI systems and incorporating AI agents into its day-to-day work and encouraging colleagues to build their own fluency with the technology. That range — her nominators describe "a rare ability to see both the immediate problem and the broader policy landscape" — extends to preparing the firm's next phase of growth, including a weekly cadence with a team of executive coaches. She has appeared on City & State's Women Power 100 list every year since its inception and received the Albany Business Review's Women Who Mean Business award; she and Rick were also named among the Power 50 Influential Duos. Diana serves on the Board of Trustees at Siena College and the Board of the Albany County Business Development Corporation's Al Tech Loan Fund, and holds an MBA from The College of Saint Rose and a bachelor's degree in marketing management from Siena College.