Regina Poreda Ryan, Managing Director, brings to CMW Strategies decades of public service and New York City government experience. She is a City budget expert with a deep understanding of City operations and governmental policy.

Leading CMW’s City budget advocacy, Regina guides non-profit clients through the discretionary expense and capital process to win local and citywide funding. She supports the development and launch of major initiatives and programs for clients by crafting comprehensive strategies that not only enlist elected officials and policymakers as champions but also provide detailed roadmaps for achieving goals. With her technical know-how Regina helps map step by step plans for setting policy agendas, securing discretionary funding, and winning major citywide budget priorities. Advancing the It Starts with the Arts campaign, Regina crafted the Support for Arts Instruction that adds millions of dollars to improve arts education in public schools. She was instrumental in completely reversing baselined budget cuts to arts and culture and moving culture to the top of the mayor’s and city council’s priority lists. She provides ongoing guidance to maintain legal service programs and helped secure major funding increases for civil and criminal legal services. Across the CMW client portfolio, Regina has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for public services and capital projects.

Following years of public service where she was responsible for overseeing city agency operations and monitoring connections to state and federal government Regina knows how to get things done in New York. She has worked on issues ranging from private school security to parental leave, to school transportation. During the fiscal crisis, she pulled together a deal to avoid a massive loss of school teachers with targeted City Council investment. To mitigate cuts to food benefits she helped advance funding increases to the food assistance program and launched a school-based food pantry program. She developed budget strategies to advance the Council’s police and criminal justice goals including the plan to close RIkers, targeted increases and decreases in police strength, and introduction of innovative justice programs. While in government service Regina worked on issues and with agencies across the public service spectrum, and she puts that experience to work at CMW.

Prior to joining CMW, Regina served at the New York City Council through the terms of five Speakers. Initially working as a legislative aid for the Chair of the Public Safety Committee and then advancing to the Finance Division, she most recently was Deputy Director overseeing the division, budget negotiations, and the Council’s discretionary funding.  She was instrumental in advancing the Council’s education, public safety and social service agendas for years, developing a host of new Council initiatives, and winning budget changes. Regina also has professional experience in federal law enforcement, women’s advocacy and policy.

Regina earned a Masters of Public Administration in Public Policy from the Wagner School at New York University and graduated from Barnard College with a major in United States History and a minor in Political Science.