Meet Our Award Winners: Matthew Bregman

Annual operating budget: For the current fiscal year, our budget is approximately $7.8 million.

How much raised annually: Approximately $5.8 million.

Role models: In terms of nonprofits, I have two main role models. The first is Karen Hopkins, under whom I worked for five years at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Karen is a brilliant, funny person who drives relentlessly toward her goal with passion. I learned from Karen that you must feel strongly about your cause and then follow every thread until you reach a “yes” or a “no.” Most people, in every line of business, allow lots of half-baked ideas to collect around them. Karen bakes them all the way through. And, just as important for me, Karen does it by being herself — no pretense or artifice.