17. Nancy Rauch Douzinas, Ph.D.

The soft-spoken president of the philanthropic Rauch Foundation could be the most influential woman on Long Island. Under her leadership, the foundation has become a true change agent, dispensing millions of dollars since its inception in 1961. Her creation, the Long Island Index, has become the most definitive status report on the quality of Long Island life. As part of its Accelerate Long Island campaign, the foundation is launching the Innovation Index to track the visionary work of our world-class research centers and tap into their projects’ potential for economic growth. Last year, Rauch sponsored the Build a Better Burb design competition to reward bold thinkers for re-envisioning LI and drew entries from around the world. Now she plans to transform the Better Burb brand into an imaginative website for propagating great ideas that have worked elsewhere and could work well here—from the provocative to the practical, in the realms of housing, transportation, regional opportunities and creating a “sense of place.” The Island’s fortunate to have such a far-sighted thinker living between its shores.