Toby Ann Stavisky was the first woman from Queens County elected to the State Senate and the first woman to chair the Senate Committee on Higher Education. A native New Yorker, she graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Syracuse University, which she attended on an academic scholarship. The Senator completed graduate school at Hunter and Queens Colleges. After working in the actuarial department of a major insurance company, Senator Stavisky taught Social Studies in the New York City high schools.
She has been involved with improving our schools and colleges, programs for older adults, social justice, opportunities for New Americans and assisting small businesses.
Toby Stavisky has been honored by numerous organizations. The New York Branch of the NAACP honored her contributions toward furthering “freedom and human dignity.” She has also received awards from The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and CUNY’s Student Senate and PSC. The President of Queensborough Community College awarded her the Presidential Medal for her “exceptional and longstanding commitment to public higher education.”
Currently, she serves as Vice President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Chairwoman of the Senate’s Committee on Higher Education. In addition, Senator Stavisky serves as a trustee of the CUCF (City University Construction Fund) and as a member of the HeCap (Higher Education Capital Matching Grants Program) Board. Senator Stavisky is Treasurer of the bipartisan, bicameral Legislative Women’s Caucus.
Senator Toby Ann Stavisky was first elected to the Senate on November 2, 1999 and has subsequently been re-elected thirteen times. She resides in Whitestone.
She was married to Dr. Leonard Stavisky, a university professor who served in the Assembly as Chair of the Education Committee and in the Senate until his death in June of 1999. She has one son, Evan, who is married to Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky.
Standing Committee Assignments 2025: Higher Education (Chairwoman), Education, Ethics and Internal Governance, Finance, Judiciary, Racing, Gaming and Wagering and Women’s Issues.