Nicky Zamostny, President

Nicky Zamostny is the President of Riverside Strategies. Since she launched her firm in 2021, Nicky has represented and delivered success for a broad range of clients, including major international corporations, professional associations, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses. She has also served as a senior advisor to winning gubernatorial, mayoral, congressional, and state legislative campaigns.

Prior to her work as a consultant, Nicky served two Virginia governors, including as Deputy Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security under Governor Ralph Northam and as Assistant Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security under Governor Terry McAuliffe. In these roles, Nicky oversaw a number of state agencies within the Secretariat, including the Virginia State Police, the Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Virginia Parole Board, the Virginia Department of Fire Programs, and more. She was also responsible for managing all legislative initiatives within the secretariat and led the successful passage of major bipartisan initiatives.

During her tenure in both administrations, Nicky led and supported numerous high-profile initiatives. Notably, she served as the director of the task force established following the deadly Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA, which developed best practices for incidents of civil unrest. She also supported the implementation of a statewide school safety study and subsequent reforms, worked to pass bipartisan criminal justice and violence prevention reforms, and more.

Nicky grew up in Northern Virginia and now lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Virginia Tech and a Master of Social Work degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.