Hello Manhattan, New York • Spring Issue | 9
BBB Metro New York’s CEO Claire Rosenzweig earns 2025 Lifetime Achievement honor
Claire Rosenzweig has led the Better Business Bureau serving Metropolitan New York since 2007, and this year her peers in the association community made that leadership plain. On October 30, 2025 she received the Metro New York Society of Association Executives’ Lifetime Achievement Award at the Synergy Awards breakfast in New York City. The recognition reflects years of steady work across Metro New York, Long Island, and the Mid Hudson region, where millions of inquiries and tens of thousands of complaints pass through BBB systems in a typical year. It also highlights the way her team blends consumer education, charity accountability, and dispute resolution in a market that sets the tone for the rest of the country.
Her path to the BBB shows why the honor resonates. Before taking the CEO role, Rosenzweig spent a decade leading a national marketing trade group and earlier served in other association leadership posts. That background taught her how to communicate with large companies and small firms in the same breath, which is essential in a region that includes global brands, neighborhood storefronts, and everything in between. When she arrived at BBB, she brought a marketer’s sense of clarity to policies and a manager’s focus on operations, so the public could see what to expect, and staff could deliver it consistently.
The award also affirms how visible she has been as an educator. New Yorkers know Rosenzweig from media interviews on scams and fraud trends, where she favors quick, practical guidance. When fake package alerts or check washing stories rise, she focuses on what people can do in minutes, not days, to limit exposure. That approach shows up in BBB alerts and interviews throughout the year, and it builds a habit of checking facts before clicking links, paying deposits, or trusting unfamiliar sellers. In a city where speed is a virtue, the message is simple: slow down long enough to verify.
Inside the organization, her leadership emphasizes two kinds of transparency. The first is public-facing. Business Profiles show complaint patterns, consumer reviews, and responses in context, so a single unhappy experience does not define a company, and a strong pattern does not get lost in anecdotes. The second is process transparency. When a dispute arises, her staff sets clear timelines, outlines requested documentation, and explains what outcomes are realistic. This gives consumers and businesses a common set of expectations, which tends to lower conflict and raise resolution rates.
Charity accountability is the other pillar. Through the Education and Research Foundation, Metro New York’s BBB evaluates nonprofits against widely used standards for governance, finances, effectiveness, and transparency. The Foundation publishes reports and hosts programs for nonprofit leaders, helping organizations prepare for scrutiny before problems begin. In practice, this means donors in the region can check the basics quickly, and charities can point to independent standards when talking with supporters. It is not just about catching bad actors; it is about raising the floor so routine operations meet public expectations.
The scale of the region tests any system. Metro New York serves a population that spans five boroughs, Long Island suburbs, and Mid Hudson communities, and demand for information is intense. In 2024 alone, the Metro office reported millions of inquiries about businesses and charities, plus a heavy load of complaints and consumer reviews. The numbers matter because they represent choices people make every day, from scheduling a home repair to picking a childcare center. In that environment, a clear set of rules for advertising, disclosures, and refunds saves time and reduces risk.
Rosenzweig’s tenure tracks with a period of rapid change for consumers and small businesses. Online marketplaces, social platforms, and mobile payments have altered how people shop and how fraudsters operate. Her response has been to keep the advice practical and local. When an alert goes out about a travel platform or a pop-up web seller, the office explains how to vet a site, what red flags look like in fine print, and how to document communications. When a new scam trend emerges in one borough, the team treats it as a regional problem and updates messages across their channels.
Peers often note how she balances public visibility with behind-the-scenes work. The public sees interviews and events, but much of the value comes from convening partners and keeping standards current. Her team’s programs for corporate responsibility and charity effectiveness bring together compliance staff, lawyers, nonprofit executives, and funders to compare notes and sharpen practices. The result is a steady push toward clearer policies, better disclosures, and more consistent service, which helps prevent disputes before they start.
Awards can feel ceremonial, but in this case, the timing and the metrics support the recognition. The office’s centennial period demanded planning, fundraising, and program delivery while the market shifted underfoot. The Foundation expanded educational offerings and continued to publish charity reports that donors could use. The consumer side handled sustained inquiry volume while keeping dispute resolution accessible. The through line in all of it has been plain language and consistent follow-through. When the rules are clear and the process is fair, trust becomes the default rather than the exception.
For readers in the region, the takeaway is straightforward. The Lifetime Achievement Award marks a long record of practical, local work that helps people make better decisions. It also underscores that strong consumer protection and fair business practice share the same tools, clear information, and documented expectations. In Metro New York, that combination has had a steady champion for many years, and the recognition this year simply makes that leadership easier to see.
When the rules are clear and the process is fair, trust becomes the default rather than the exception.
When she arrived at BBB, she brought a marketer’s sense of clarity to policies and a manager’s focus on operations, so the public could see what to expect, and staff could deliver it consistently.The award also affirms how visible she has been as an educator. New Yorkers know Rosenzweig from media interviews on scams and fraud trends, where she favors quick, practical guidance. When fake package alerts or check washing stories rise, she focuses on what people can do in minutes, not...
