S2E6: Michael Dowling – Health Care Optimist
Michael Dowling Links
- Website: www.michael-dowling.com
- After the Roof Caved In: Amazon
- Leading Through a Pandemic: Amazon
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Twitter
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Episode Details
Growing up in rural poverty in Co. Limerick, Michael Dowling was surrounded by a “cacophony of nos.”
Fortunately for Dowling there was no better motivation than being told he couldn’t do something.
That spirit and a prodigious amount of hard work propelled him through University College Cork, success on the hurling pitch, further education and a professorship at Fordham, a long run as director of Health, Education and Human Service for his mentor Gov. Mario Cuomo, to his role today as the self-described “health care optimist” who leads New York State’s largest health care system and largest private employer as CEO of Northwell Health.
Dowling tells an epic immigrant’s tale in his new memoir “After the Roof Caved In: An Immigrant's Journey from Ireland to America” and in conversation with Martin Nutty and John Lee on this episode of Irish Stew.
CEO Emeritus Northwell Health
Michael J. Dowling is one of health care’s most influential voices. He is an award-winning health care leader, author and national keynote speaker who takes a stand on societal issues such as gun violence, corporate social responsibility, and immigration—issues many health system leaders shy away from. Mr. Dowling, who was president and CEO of Northwell Health for 23 years, is now CEO emeritus. He will continue to serve Northwell in an advisory capacity, supporting key public health initiatives and focusing on teaching and writing.
Named a "Titan" on the 2025 TIME100 Health list, Mr. Dowling led Northwell to become the only health system on TIME's 2025 Most Influential Companies list. He has also been ranked on Modern Healthcare's 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare list for sixteen consecutive years, achieving the top spot in 2022.
Mr. Dowling is an author; Leading Through a Pandemic: The Inside Story of Humanity, Innovation, and Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Crisis (2020), After the Roof Caved In: An Immigrant's Journey from Ireland to America (2020) and The Aging Revolution: The History of Geriatric Health Care and What Really Matters to Older Adults (2024).
Mr. Dowling grew up in Limerick, Ireland.