20. Theresa Regnante

Theresa Regnante is an advocate for Long Island’s most vulnerable. In her role, she’s become one of the prime catalysts for making the Island a better place. She works to ensure that every Long Island child has a quality education, every family has a stable income and every individual has access to good healthcare. As head of the United Way, she’s helped bring together 125 community partners to coordinate more effective public initiatives on a range of vital issues. As a disaster management expert, Regnante deployed her resources after Hurricane Sandy to establish a free helpline and online database to connect those in need to essential health and human service agencies. Tireless in the never-ending quest for funding, Regnante has broadened the base of support and reached previously untapped markets. Thanks to her, overall revenue growth has risen 43 percent. Procuring $1.5 million in government, corporate and private grants helped United Way of Long Island establish a workforce training center for the unemployed and underemployed. Regnante knows she has a delicate balancing act, trying to keep the charity functioning efficiently and effectively while staying true to its guiding mission. She’s got the organizational chops, the determination, and the vision to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders. And she proves that, every day.