Toby Ann Stavisky - Biography

Toby Ann Stavisky represents the 16th district in the New York State Senate which comprises the Queens neighborhoods of Bay Terrace, Bayside, Beechhurst, Clearview Gardens, Flushing, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Hillcrest, Elmhurst, Electchester, Pomonok, Queensboro Hill, Whitestone, Woodside, Mitchell Linden, Fresh Meadows, and Oakland Gardens.

Toby Ann Stavisky, the first woman from Queens County elected to the State Senate and the first woman to Chair the Senate Committee on Higher Education, is a native New Yorker who was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She attended local public schools before graduating from Bronx High School of Science and Syracuse University which she attended on an academic scholarship and where she received her Bachelor's degree. The Senator completed graduate school at Hunter and Queens Colleges.

After working in the actuarial department of a major insurance company, Mrs. Stavisky taught Social Studies in the New York City high schools, including Brooklyn Technical, Haaren and Thomas Edison.

She served as district manager in Northeast Queens for the 1980 Census, where she directed more than 1,000 field and office staff and was cited by the Commerce Department for her outstanding work.

In the community, Senator Stavisky has been involved in a wide array of activities on such issues as exploiting the Jewish senior vote and opportunities for illegal aliens.

Senator Stavisky was a founder of the North Flushing Senior Center and served on its Board of Directors. She served as a trustee of the Whitestone Hebrew Centre where she and her husband were honored as the "Couple of the Year."

Mrs. Stavisky has also been honored by the Mitchell-Linden Junior Baseball League for her work with young people. The Association for Neurologically Impaired Brain Injured Children honored Senator Stavisky and the Counseling, Admissions and Financial Aid Legislative Consortium presented her with an award "in recognition of her vigorous support of Higher Education." The Senator has also been recognized by Hadassah, CUNY, the New York Community College Association of Presidents, the Taiwanese Association of America, the Korean American Association of Flushing, the Flushing Chamber of Commerce and Business Association as well as the 112th Precinct Community Council. She was also honored as a "Worthy Woman of Forest Hills." Senator Stavisky was the recipient of the Claire Shulman Award from the "Top 10 Women in Business" and was selected as the 2007 Legislator of the Year by the New York State Ophthalmological Society. In April 2008 Sen. Stavisky was presented the Rose Kryzak Legislative Award from the Queens Interagency Council on the Aging, for her "dedicated service to seniors across Queens." The New York State Office for the Aging presented her with its Certificate of Excellence in 2008. The Samuel Field Y's CAP Connects Autism Support Program thanked Sen. Stavisky in 2008 for her dedication to the community. She received the Outstanding Service Award in 2009 from the Association for program Administrators of CSTEP and STEP Programs, Inc. In 2010 she was given the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (NYAHSA) Partners in Quality Award in recognition of her commitment to advancing quality services for older adults in the State. The Humane Society of the United States named Sen. Stavisky the Humane Legislator for 2009 for her support of animal-friendly legislation in New York. The Community Education Council of District 25 awarded Sen. Stavisky a Certificate of Appreciation in May 2010 recognizing her continuous dedication to worthy causes and her dedication to the community. Senator Stavisky serves as State Director for New York State of the non-profit, bipartisan organization Women in Government, a national organization for female state legislators across the country.

From 2003 to 2008, Senator Stavisky served as Assistant Minority Whip and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Higher Education. Currently she is Vice Chairwoman of the Majority Conference and Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Higher Education.

Senator Stavisky is one of six New York State members of the Education Commission of the States (ECS), a state-based educational organization serving all fifty states. She also serves on the Legislative Commission on Dairy Industry Development.

In 1964, the former Toby Ann Goldhaar was married to Dr. Leonard Price Stavisky, a university professor, who served in the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate from 1966 until his death in June 1999. She resides in Whitestone and has one son, Evan, a partner in The Parkside Group, who is married to Kristen Zebrowski.

Senator Toby Ann Stavisky was elected to the Senate on November 2, 1999, with more than 92% of the vote and has subsequently been re-elected five times. The 16th Senate District in Central and Northeastern Queens includes the communities of Bay Terrace, Bayside, Beechhurst, Clearview Gardens, Electchester, Elmhurst, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, Kew Gardens Hills, Mitchell Linden, Oakland Gardens, Pomonok, Queensboro Hill, Rego Park, Whitestone, and Woodside.

Standing Committee Assignments 2009: Higher Education (Chairwoman); Aging; Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation; Education; Finance; and Transportation.

External links

• New York State Senate: Toby Ann Stavisky
• Toby Ann Stavisky For Senate : The Case For Why She Shouldn't Be Re-Elected