By City & State

October 19, 2026

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Local leaders of Suffolk and Nassau counties

Long Island is a thriving region that is home to nearly 3 million people. The two counties that make up the region, Nassau and Suffolk, are largely suburban, with many of their residents living in cities, towns, villages or hamlets filled with single-family homes. A majority of Long Island’s nearly 3 million residents are white.

In recent decades, however, Long Island has grown more diverse, with Latinos and Asian Americans leading the way, and Black residents also making gains. Local political leanings have ebbed and flowed, with Democrats making gains in the island’s Republican strongholds, only to see them recede again.

City & State’s Long Island Trailblazers, researched and written by journalist Lon Cohen, illustrates the dynamic nature of the region. This year’s list features elected and appointed government officials, mission-driven nonprofit leaders, exemplary business executives, forward-looking university presidents and civic-minded attorneys along with deeply engaged advocates, activists and others who are collectively defining Long Island’s future.

Lori Andrade

Executive Vice President, Health and Welfare Council of Long Island

Lori Andrade’s energy toward creating change is shaped by her more than two decades working with nonprofits on Long Island. Since 2010, Andrade has worked for the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, where she now leads the Health Equity Alliance of Long Island, or HEALI, its social care network. Prior to this role, she helped secure Long Island’s place in New York state’s Medicaid waiver initiative, which connects more than 100 organizations around nutrition, housing and transportation to improve health and cut costs, and moves services such as medically tailored meals to reimbursable care.