28. Katherine Heaviside

Keeping her cool while dealing with some of the hottest controversies on Long Island is one of many attributes of Katherine Heaviside, who heads the Island’s top public relations firm. The New York Times once crowned Heaviside with the regal title “The Crisis Queen.” She can defuse even the touchiest situation. With her guidance, Veolia Transportation transformed the MTA’s Long Island Bus into the Nassau Inter-County Express, NICE, for short. Over the years, she’s represented Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Rechler Equity Partners, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s, King Kullen and Adelphi University, as well as Cablevision. Now she’s promoting the Madison Square Garden Company in its bid to redevelop the Nassau Coliseum. As she put it, she probably couldn’t help Carmelo Anthony on the court, but nobody should take her lightly. “I may be outsized, but I’m not outplayed!”