16. Theresa A. Regnante

As the leader of 48-year-old nonprofit United Way, Theresa Regnante unites 110 community partners in supporting strategic initiatives to improve education, income stability and health throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties. Under her leadership, the organization procured $1.5 million in government, corporate and private grants to establish a workforce training center for the unemployed and underemployed. Regnante has worked hard to balance United Way’s social mission with the strong entrepreneurial initiatives and business management integral to running such a successful nonprofit organization. Her efforts have stabilized the organization both administratively and financially, with overall revenue growth of more than 43 percent. Hurricane Sandy met her match in Regnante who led efforts to coordinate communication between nonprofits during Long Island’s darkest days.