Nancy Rauch Douzinas

Under the inspired vision of Nancy Rauch Douzinas, the Rauch Foundation has become a true agent of change for our region, whether it’s promoting programs to help disadvantaged young children, protecting the environment or developing leadership skills in the non-profit world to make a difference. Since its inception in 1961, the foundation has dispensed millions of dollars to a wide range of deserving causes. And more recently, thanks to her pushing the Long Island Index, a project that gathers and publishes data on our region, she’s using knowledge as power, under the guiding principle that “good information presented in a neutral manner can move policy.” That was definitely the case this year when the 2012 Index was unveiled at Farmingdale University to an assembly of some of the top politicians and policymakers on Long Island. A soft-spoken psychologist and family therapist by background, Douzinas knows she doesn’t have all the answers but she’s fearless when it comes to championing the search—and doing what she can to make Long Island a better place.

Inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2012