Diana runs her family foundation, the Vladimir and Araxia Buckhantz Foundation, which focuses on issues around runaway and homeless youth, arts education in the schools, aging, reproductive rights, and women’s empowerment projects in Eastern Congo and Chad.

Prior to running the Foundation and for the past 25 years Diana was a social issue public relations consultant with a track record in obtaining media attention for non-profit organizations, advocacy groups, and foundations. Diana has worked on issues as diverse as the environment, women’s civil rights, children’s educational programs, disability, and adolescent sexuality to name a few and has been successful in promoting her clients and their issues in local and national media. Prior to her consulting career, Diana was Media Director for Children Now, one of California’s leading advocacy groups for children and the Public Relations/Marketing Manager for the California Family Health Council. She was also press secretary for Gil Garcetti’s successful District Attorney Campaign.

Diana Buckhantz was recently part of the producing team that brought the Tony-nominated musical Leap of Faith from the Ahmanson Theatre to Broadway. She was also a Producer of Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York.

Diana began her professional career producing award-winning documentaries including “Dying with Dignity” and “Not A Question of Courage,” both for KTLA. Her documentaries have also received two National EMMY awards, two local EMMY Awards, the Scripps Howard Award for Broadcast Journalism, the State Bar of California Public Service Award, the NAPTE National Iris Award, the National Education Award, three Angel Awards, and the Kenny Rogers World Hunger Media Award. While a producer at ITC Productions, she received an Associate Producer credit for the feature film “Without A Clue,” starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley.

Diana received a Bachelors of Arts from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and a Masters in Fine Arts for Theatre Arts from California Institute of the Arts.