2. Michael Dowling

He’s come a long way indeed from his humble roots in County Limerick to have been the grand marshal of this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City. When this Northport resident is not leading a march, he heads the 14th largest health system in the nation and the largest private employer in New York State, with some 61,000 employees (15,000 nurses alone), 21 hospitals, and more than 550 outpatient facilities. Under his reign, the reach of Northwell Health, formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System, extends from Long Island to Westchester, from Connecticut to New Jersey. Thanks to his guidance, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine continues training the next generation of medical professionals and the renowned Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is making breakthroughs in the fight against disease with innovations in bioelectronics medicine and medical 3D printing technology, to name a few developments that would have been just as believable in a science fiction novel a few years ago. But with Dowling’s leadership, nothing is out of reach at Northwell Health.