Diana Urban

Legislator
Connecticut General Assembly
North Stonington, Connecticut, USA

Representative Urban is currently serving her seventh term in the Connecticut General Assembly. She is a member of the Legislature’s Environment Committee and is vice chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee as well as Co-Chair of the Results Based Accountability (RBA) Sub-Committee of the Appropriations Committee.

Throughout her tenure in the General Assembly, Ms. Urban has led the fight for RBA in the state of Connecticut budgeting process. She has been recognized by Governing Magazine as a National Leader in High Performance Government for her work on RBA and recently the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) awarded Connecticut the “Con Hogan Award” for the Appropriation Committee’s RBA Work on Innovation in Government. She fervently believes that accountability and transparency are essential to good government. Her work has resulted in many state agencies employing RBA: the Early Childhood Cabinet, the Child Poverty and Prevention Council, the Juvenile Justice Policy and Operations Coordination Council, the State Department of Education and the Department of Environmental Protection all of which have been using RBA to develop indicators and performance measures. As a result of these efforts, the Appropriations Committee intends to expand its use of RBA in budget deliberations next session.

Ms. Urban is a two-time recipient of the American Lung Association of Connecticut’s Breath of Life award for her work in helping to clean up Connecticut’s “Sooty Six” power plants. She was also named one of the four most influential legislators on the environment by the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters, as well as an “Environmental Hero.” She has twice been named the Legislator of the Year by the Humane Society of the United States.

Ms. Urban has also taught Economics and Political Science at various colleges for over 20 years. She was a tenured Assistant professor at Suffolk County Community College before moving to Connecticut to teach at Three Rivers Community College and the University of Connecticut at Avery Point. She brought her expertise on Environmental Economics to the Town of North Stonington by serving on their Planning and Zoning Commission for 10 years.

Ms. Urban received her B.A. in Political Science from Long Island University and her Masters in Public Administration from SUNY at Stony Brook. She has pursued her Ph.D. from the University of Rhode Island in Economics. Ms. Urban has also attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University’s Senior Executive Leadership Program as a Fannie Mae Fellow.
Ms. Urban resides in North Stonington and her son, Lex, graduated from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University this year. In her free time, she is a United States Regional and National Pony Club Coach and gives Equestrian Clients to Pony Clubs through out New England.

Professional Highlights:

• Legislator, Connecticut General Assembly: Chair of the RBA Subcommittee of Appropriations, recognized by Governing Magazine as a National Leader in High Performance Government for her work on RBA and recently the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) awarded Connecticut the “Con Hogan Award” for the Appropriation Committee’s RBA Work on Innovation in Government.
• Economics and Political Science Professor: Over 20 years experience at several community and state colleges
• B.A., Long Island University (Magna Cum Laude); MPA, SUNY at Stonybrook
• Kennedy School, Harvard University, Fannie Mae Fellow, Senior Executive Leadership Program

Expertise in Results Accountability:

• Results Based Budgeting for state and local governments
• Coaching state or local legislators and legislative staff working to implement Results Accountability
• Helping agencies align performance measures with community indicators