By GREGORY ZELLER //
One of Long Island’s most influential foundations is undergoing a leadership change, a generational shift and a geographic reallocation, all at once.
The Garden City-based Rauch Foundation announced this week that longtime President Nancy Rauch Douzinas is stepping down – and will be succeeded as president by her daughter, Eva Douzinas, with daughter Ruth Douzinas remaining on the foundation’s Executive Committee.
Further, while the 61-year-old organization plans to “retain a small footprint in the Long Island region,” it will be “shifting its focus geographically to New England, where the family has a longstanding history,” according to a Rauch Foundation statement.
The self-billed “family foundation,” which invests in ideas and organizations promoting positive systemic changes, is well-known for its in-depth socioeconomic case studies, including a 2021 study examining Long Island downtowns in the post-COVID world.
It is also the creator of the Long Island Index, an annual, unbiased assessment of key business and residential sectors and statistics that was succeeded in 2018 by Newsday’s nextLI digital toolbox.
Eva Douzinas: Chip off the old block.
Focused primarily on environmental issues and early-childhood educational support, the Rauch Foundation has already worked extensively in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay area – and will now turn its attention northward, focusing primarily on life-skills education (covering wellness, financial literacy, career planning and more) in New England K-12 schools.
“My own observations as an employer and a parent are consistent with the research we are finding on the serious health crisis taking place in this country, and the lack of preparation among high school graduates for the real-world responsibilities of adulthood,” Eva Douzinas said Monday. “We hope to bring together as many leaders and stakeholders as possible to help us improve the health and preparedness of high school graduates.”
The transitional phase presents an “opportunity to build on the Rauch Foundation’s reputation and outsized influence for a funder of its size,” according to the incoming president – a tale of the tape credited largely to her mother, who took the foundation’s reins in 1990 and is generally hailed as an innovative and forward-looking leader.
Long Island Pine Barrens Society CEO Dick Amper praised Rauch Douzinas’ “thought leadership and her important role as a convener,” while Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory President and CEO Bruce Stillman trumpeted achievements like the Long Island Index, which was created on the outgoing president’s watch.
“Under Nancy’s leadership, the Rauch Foundation has shone a spotlight on Long Island’s many assets, including world-class research institutions, proximity to New York City and a strong history of innovation,” Stillman said in a statement. “It is incumbent on us to continue the foundation’s legacy and generate a powerful consensus among the public and all layers of government so that we can move our region forward.”
Stat’s incredible: The Long Island Index chronicled critical Island socioeconomics for years.
After 32 years at the helm, Rauch Douzinas expressed confidence that the foundation’s community-first mission would continue unabated – and Long Island would be just fine, even with the Rauch Foundation redeploying its resources to New England.
“Now is the time for new generations of Long Islanders to step up and continue the progress that has been made,” she said. “I’m grateful to all of the partners and collaborators with whom the foundation has worked … all of the individuals and organizations that have used our investments to execute exciting new initiatives.
“I feel confident that other foundations, corporate leaders and political leaders will step up and will continue to work on making Long Island healthy and vibrant place to live.”
