Rauch Foundation :: Our Team

Board Leadership and Staff

Patti Schaefer

Managing Director

Patti Schaefer returned to the Rauch Foundation, where she previously served as Environmental Program Director, in 2016. She now advises the foundation on its priority program strategy and governance. For many years she worked in school leadership, as Campaign Counsel to International College in Beirut and Chief Advancement Officer at the Cooke School in New York City. She is a former writer for Nonprofit Quarterly and for many years advised nonprofits and foundations on diverse philanthropic initiatives.

Patti began her career at Morgan Stanley, where she headed up the firm’s U.S. foundation and oversaw the establishment of its U.K. foundation. She is a founding board member of the India Group, a Trustee of the Westhampton Historical Society and Chair of the Westhampton Beach Conservation Advisory Council. Patti has an MA in Political Science from Columbia University and MA, TESOL from the Department of Linguistics, Stony Brook University.

Eva Douzinas

President & Member of Board

As of 2023, Eva Douzinas serves as the Foundation President. Previously, Eva was the Co-President and CFO for Veson Nautical Corporation, a commercial maritime software company based in Boston that Eva co-founded in 2003 and ran until the sale of the company in 2017. In this time, the company was named as one of Boston Business Journal's Best Places to Work three times, grew to have offices in three countries and serve many of the world’s premier shipping organizations. Since 2018, she has devoted a significant amount of her time to the non-profit cultural and educational center she co-founded in Greece, Katheti AMKE, serving the Troizinia region with locations in Poros and Galatas.

Eva earned a B.A. in economics from Wesleyan University and an M.B.A. from New York University's Stern School of Business.

Ruth F. Douzinas

Vice President & Member of Board

Ruth Douzinas founded Trireme Consulting after spending three years as the Director of the Program Management Office at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Prior to that, she was an environmental engineer and program manager with CH2M HILL. She has more than 20 years of experience related to managing large capital construction programs. She is also a ceramic artist, making sculpture inspired by nature and history.

Ruth received an A.B. from Dartmouth College in Biology and a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. She is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Massachusetts.

Nancy Rauch Douzinas

Board Chair

Nancy Rauch Douzinas became president of the Rauch Foundation in 1990 after a career of 20 years as a psychologist and family therapist.

In keeping with her broad range of community concerns and personal interests, Nancy serves on the boards of Teachers College, Columbia University; Greentree Foundation; the North Shore Land Alliance; the Stony Brook Foundation; and Accelerate Long Island.

Nancy graduated from Smith College and received an M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University in community psychology.

George W. Frank, Jr.

Treasurer & Member of Board

George W. Frank, Jr., is retired after a 37-year career in sales and management at leading investment firms, including Merrill Lynch and Smith Barney, where he served as head of equity capital markets and then global head of equity institutional sales.

Since retirement, George has been an investor in both public and private firms and owns a private oil and gas exploration company. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina with a degree in economics.

Ann Golob

Research Consultant

Ann Golob directed the Long Island Index, a project of the Rauch Foundation, from 2006 to 2018, drawing on her background in research, statistical analysis, strategic planning, and knowledge management. She is currently consulting with the foundation on a variety of research projects.

Ann joined the Rauch Foundation with 20 years of management experience at several Fortune 500 companies, including Chase Manhattan Bank, AXA Client Solutions and Guardian Life Insurance Company.

Ann holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from City University of New York Graduate Center and currently lives in southern Vermont.

Directors

Lance E. Lindblom

Lance E. Lindblom served as president and CEO of the Nathan Cummings Foundation from 2000 until his retirement in 2011. Previously, he was a program officer at the Ford Foundation, executive vice president at the Soros Foundation’s Open Society Institute/Open Society Fund, and president and CEO of the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation. He also held numerous government positions in both the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago and was a litigator at the Chicago law firm of Jenner and Block.

Lance graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, received an M.A. in public affairs from Princeton University, and earned a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.

Cynthia McVay

Cynthia McVay spent a couple decades as a strategy and management consultant, first at McKinsey & Co. in media, retail and packaged goods, and subsequently independently for startups, nonprofits and household brands. As a political appointment under Obama, Cynthia served as the inaugural Director of the Office of Innovation for the Peace Corps. Out of college, Cynthia joined World Wildlife Fund, where she was Program Officer for Mexico and Guatemala. Cynthia is a writer and an artist, and currently serves on the boards of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, John Burroughs Association, Rondout Rowing Club, and Town of Esopus’ Environmental Board and Waterfront Advisory Committee.

Cynthia graduated with a BA from Harvard in Biology and a minor in Visual and Environmental Studies (studio arts). As a Fellow of the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, she received an MBA from Wharton and MA in International Studies (focus: Brazil/Portuguese).

Thomas Rogers

Thomas Rogers serves as Superintendent for the Syosset Central School District, which serves more than 7,000 students pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. Since 2014, Dr. Rogers has implemented new programs including computer coding, robotics, Mandarin and Korean. Dr. Rogers also started new Varsity programs in Gymnastics, Fencing, Rowing and Flag Football – all while holding tax increases below the State’s inflation-adjusted cap. Dr. Rogers achieved public approval of 3 facilities propositions totaling more than $70 million to improve aging infrastructure, enhance school security, and build new athletics facilities. The diverse District was one of the first in the State to recognize the Lunar New Year, Diwali, and Eid holidays on its school calendar. Under Dr. Rogers’ leadership, the high school was named a National Blue Ribbon School and the entire District’s Niche.com ranking increased from 82^nd to 5^th place (2023) in the nation.

Formerly, as CEO of Nassau BOCES, Dr. Rogers led the largest educational services cooperative in New York, serving the 56 school districts in Nassau County with education programs for students with disabilities, career and technical education, networking and information technology support, and back-office business services.

Dr. Rogers previously led the New York State Council of School Superintendents, the statewide professional association for chief school officers. During his tenure, the Council launched the 'Education is a Civil Right' campaign focused on public education equity and created the Leadership for Educational Achievement Foundation (LEAF) professional development academy. Dr. Rogers began his career on the New York State Senate Majority Leader’s education team.

Dr. Rogers earned an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University at Buffalo, and a Master’s degree and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.