A New Chair and Trustee, Both Healthcare Innovators, Bolster Adelphi Board

With the recent appointment of Leonard C. Achan '99 as chair of the Adelphi University Board of Trustees and the election of Northwell Health CEO Emeritus Michael Dowling as a trustee, Adelphi University is reinforcing its leadership in the field of healthcare education.

Adelphi University has added two highly distinguished leaders in the healthcare field to its board of trustees. Even more noteworthy, both leaders share a similar journey-Achan as a first-generation American and Dowling as an immigrant. That shared background gives them a deeply felt empathy for the experiences of so many Adelphi students today.

Leonard C. Achan '99, a graduate of Adelphi's nursing program whose connection to the University includes 10 years of service as a trustee and generous support of student scholarships and spiritual life on campus, is a healthcare innovator and executive, philanthropist and artist born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens.

Michael Dowling, who grew up in poverty in Ireland before immigrating to the United States, built Northwell Health into New York state's largest employer and the Northeast's largest healthcare provider. As CEO of the nonprofit, based in nearby New Hyde Park, New York, he helped develop longtime alliances with Adelphi that provided critical clinical and educational opportunities for our students.

"Both of these leaders have made an incredible impact on our community," said Adelphi President Michael Balboni '81, JD. "Chair Achan's story truly embodies the Adelphi spirit and is a shining example of our strength in producing leaders in nursing, health care and business. And Michael Dowling shares Adelphi's deep commitment to the public good. His compassion and dedication to helping others throughout his career are a true reflection of his character."

Leonard C. Achan '99

Chair Achan's connection to Adelphi is rooted in a deep personal commitment to the University's mission of transforming lives through education, service and compassionate care. He brings that devotion to his new role as board chair, which he assumed in July 2026, taking over from acting chair William Fuessler '79, who now serves as vice chair.

Like many of his fellow Adelphi nursing alumni, Achan began his career at the bedside, first as a medical ICU nurse and than as an adult acute care nurse practitioner, embodying Adelphi's core values of care, clinical excellence and service to others. As his leadership expanded into senior executive roles across top-tier institutions-including Mount Sinai Health System, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Hospital for Special Surgery-Chair Achan consistently championed innovation that enhances patient care. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded and served as chairman of Quality Reviews Inc., a digital health platform used by more than 150 hospitals that elevates the care experience for more than 30 million patients nationwide. Today, he is president and CEO of LiveOnNY, a vital nonprofit dedicated to lifesaving organ donations and supporting donor families, further extending the spirit of public health and empathy nurtured during his student days at Adelphi.

Beyond his professional achievements and his leadership as a trustee, Chair Achan has provided transformational philanthropic support for Adelphi and its students. He has championed opportunity by establishing the Leonard Achan Sr. Endowed Scholarship, honoring his father by supporting students passionate about the arts, nature, the environment and public health. He invested in compassionate care by creating the Zosia "Gigi" Levine Endowed Scholarship for Mental Health-honoring his wife's grandmother, a Holocaust survivor-to provide needed assistance to future generations of mental health counselors. And this past June, his generous gift supporting spiritual life and the inclusive, community-minded mission of Adelphi's Interfaith Center was recognized by the renaming of the center as the Achan Family Interfaith Center.

"Opening that Adelphi acceptance letter was a spark of light," Chair Achan said in a recent video interview. "I was a first-generation American and an inner city youth in Queens. I never thought I might go to college. Adelphi became a beacon that showed me the way to the future I aspired to."

"Being a trustee has given me such great perspective," he continued. "I can still reflect back on being a student, so I know our students have dreams too, and I believe they will fulfill those dreams because of their foundation at Adelphi. Through the support of the University, through board governance, through philanthropic support, I have this privilege of helping bring those dreams to life."

Michael Dowling

Michael Dowling, who joined the board in September, brings his legacy of global leadership in healthcare, public policy and crisis management to the University.

As president and CEO of Northwell Health for more than 24 years, he provided the visionary leadership that helped Northwell grow into a clinical, academic and research enterprise with more than 106,000 employees and nearly $25 billion in annual revenue.

Prior to Northwell, Dowling served in the New York state government for 12 years, including seven years as state director of health, education and human services and deputy secretary to former Gov. Mario Cuomo, and later as commissioner of the Department of Social Services. A native of County Limerick, Ireland, he earned his undergraduate degree at University College Cork and his Master of Social Work at Fordham University, where he served as a professor of social policy and assistant dean of the university's Graduate School of Social Service and director of the Fordham campus in Westchester County.

He was named a "Titan" on the TIME100 Health 2025 list and ranked No. 1 on Modern Healthcare's list of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in 2022. Dowling is the acclaimed author of several books, including his memoir, After the Roof Caved In: An Immigrant's Journey from Ireland to America, a moving account of his hardscrabble upbringing and the educational journey that helped him transcend it.

"I'm extraordinarily proud to join the Adelphi board," Dowling said. "I look forward to lending my insight and expertise to the University and working with President Balboni and my fellow board members to strengthen Adelphi's standing as a preeminent institution for healthcare education."

Dowling and Chair Achan both experienced the power of education to transform lives. As trustees, both have the power to extend Adelphi's ability to make a life-changing impact on new generations of students while also enhancing the University's leadership in healthcare.