Shannon Dowler, MD, CPE, FAAFP

Even before going to medical school, Shannon Dowler, MD, CPE, FAAFP, married her high school sweetheart over 30 years ago. They live in a deeply rural part of the Appalachian Mountains with barn cats, rescue dogs, barnyard chickens and a herd of goats, and have raised two phenomenal sons, who are busy as a nurse and a lawyer.

A broad scope

From the local health department to a federally qualified health center to a regional nonprofit health system, she has steadfastly maintained a teaching faculty appointment, prioritizing precepting and mentoring students and residents. While traditional family medicine has been a large part of her journey, she has also accrued more than 20 years’ focused experience in STD clinics, resulting in several music videos, countless sex ed talks and even a book, all with the goal of vanquishing STIs and HIV. Her clinical time is currently focused on providing care to people living with HIV.

The challenge of a lifetime

In 2018, her career took a turn that was simultaneously the best and hardest thing in her professional life. Dr. Dowler journeyed into the belly of policy and political intrigue as a public servant, accepting the role as chief medical officer of North Carolina Medicaid, a $30 billion program responsible for 3 million lives. She joined the department at a massive inflection point of transitioning to managed care. Only six months in the role, her public service shifted into even higher gear with COVID-19. After rapidly transforming telehealth and creating primary care infrastructure payments, she next led statewide, equity-focused interventions for COVID-19 testing and vaccines, and wrapped up her state service by guiding North Carolina into Medicaid expansion at the end of 2023.

Since leaving the department she established a small business and provides health policy consultant at all levels, from the regional—helping philanthropy guide a 5M investment in IDD services—to state-level leadership focused on safety nets and eliminating maternity deserts, to the federal level, where she is in her third year as a consultant and acting chief medical officer for the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary at HHS, leading work around the congenital syphilis epidemic.

Being an AAFP leader has been her career-long dream. After following the traditional path as NCAFP chapter president, serving on an AAFP commission and as representative to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, having attended countless Annual Chapter Leader ForumALFs, National Conference of Constituency Leader events and Congress of Delegates sessions, public service disrupted the traditional journey to AAFP leadership. The nominating process change by the Congress of Delegates was the perfect opportunity to jump back into the fray. Leaders like Dr. Dowler didn’t check all the historical boxes in the expected order but have arrived, nonetheless, eager to contribute to the future of family medicine.