Diane M Ramirez

Diane M. Ramirez is President of Halstead Property, LLC. Together with Clark Halstead, she helped found Halstead Property in the Fall of 1984. Their vision for the company was a high-end firm that utilized advanced technology combined with old fashioned elegance and that covered all segments of the market. Due to their vision, Halstead Property became the first big firm to utilize storefront offices in Manhattan as well as the first to be on the West Side and in Downtown. When the firm was founded, Mrs. Ramirez worked as a selling broker until 1987. During these years, she consistently ranked in the top 5% of the firm's brokers and was the winner of many company sales and listing awards. In 1988, she was the very first recipient of the prestigious Real Estate Board of New York's (REBNY)"Deal of the Year" award. In 1987, Mrs. Ramirez assumed the management role of Director of Sales. She was promoted to Executive Director of Sales in 1993; and, named President of the firm in 1999. She was also a partner and board member until the firm was acquired in 2001 by Terra Holdings whose principals include David Burris, Kent M. Swig, Arthur Zeckendorf and Will Zeckendorf. She began her real estate career in 1973 in Palm Beach, Florida, where she continues to maintain her license. In 1975, Mrs. Ramirez, her husband and two children returned to New York, their hometown. She acquired her real estate license and worked at a competing firm until joining forces with Mr. Halstead in 1984. Mrs. Ramirez is an active member of REBNY, where she serves on the Board of Governors, their Advisory Board, the Board of ResidentialNYC and as Co-Chair on the Board of Directors of the Residential Division. She served on the Deal of the Year Committee and its Investment Advisory sub-committee since the early 2000's and served as the Co-Chair from 2004 to 2008. Mrs. Ramirez is a member of the Residential Brokerage Division, Interfirm Forum, which she co-chaired from 1996-98. She is currently a committee member on Admissions and has served on the Ethics Committee and Education Committee (co-chair from 1994-1996). In addition, she is an accredited continuing education teacher for the State. Mrs. Ramirez is also a member of the Real Estate Brokerage Managers Council - the professional organization of business management, which serves real estate brokerage owners and managers, and in 1996, she earned the industry-recognized CRB designation. In 2007 at the REBNY annual Gala, Mrs. Ramirez was presented with the lifetime achievement award, the Henry Forster Award. Instituted in 1990, the prestigious award is presented annually to a real estate professional with an outstanding record of achievement and conduct both within the industry and the community. Mrs. Ramirez was selected by a committee of past Henry Forster Award winners. Mrs. Ramirez is deeply involved in philanthropy both in and out of the real estate community. In January 2009, she was recognized for her community service when she was presented with the Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award from REBNY. In addition, she has been presented with the New York Moves 'Power Women' honor, the Mann 'Real Estate Firm of the Year' Award and the OTTY 'Eastsider of the Year' Award, both of which acknowledge outstanding involvement in the community. Mrs. Ramirez was also honored by the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter with the Celine Marcus Community Service Award. She and her husband, Sam Ramirez, are long-standing supporters of the Valerie Fund in New Jersey and were honored at their annual Thanksgiving Gala in 2006 for their outstanding involvement and dedication to the charity. Mrs. Ramirez resides in Manhattan with her husband, Sam Ramirez, who is the founder and CEO of the investment banking firm, Samuel A. Ramirez & Co., Inc. Their son, his wife and their three children also dwell in Manhattan; and, their daughter resides in Connecticut with her husband and two children.