Allan Mcdougall
Listen Now
About
Born and raised in poverty on a dairy farm in Ontario, Canada, Allan McDougall spent more than twenty years underground as a miner in the mineral-rich Sudbury Basin.
Numerous challenges and abuses lead him down a self-destructive path into alcohol abuse. At the moment of truth, he pulled himself out of his downward spiral and today his focus is, as he says, “Not to see through people, but to see people through.”
Today, Allan’s life continues to be redeemed through his years of work as a substance abuse counselor and as head of the United Steelworkers Emergency Response Team. Drawing from his real life experiences, Allan is a unique voice among public speakers, one capable of influencing, motivating, educating and inspiring audiences to take the actions required to change their lives for the better. He knows very well the road that many in his audiences have been down and he is able to touch chords that lie in all of us with his gentle demeanor, empathetic nature and inspiring message.
Allan retains his lifelong passion for hot rods and enjoys nothing more than driving his 1966 Shelby Cobra through the countryside near his Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home while listening to the “doo-wop” music of his formative years.
Latest Episodes
When Disaster Strikes: Meet the USW Emergency Response Team
SOLIDARITY WORKS
Allan McDougall, the first director of the USW Emergency Response Team, learned firsthand the importance of healing and the need for long-lasting support from unions more than thirty years ago while working in a mine in Canada. After witnessing multiple co-workers’ deaths and suffering in silence with alcoholism, Allan took control of his life and health, and brought that experience to the groundbreaking USW program.
Embracing Crisis with Heart with Allan McDougall
NOHS Roundtable Discussions
In this compelling episode with our guest Allan McDougall, our conversation unpacks the worlds we carry within ourselves and how they dance with the worlds of those we serve. Allan shares his stories of grief, loss, compassion, and healing as he cast a light on the works of crisis response and the humans behind it.
Mining your gems with Allan McDougall
TAO-Living with Lou Corleto
Born and raised in poverty on a dairy farm in Ontario, Canada, Allan McDougall spent more than twenty years underground as a miner in the mineral-rich Sudbury Basin. Numerous challenges and abuses led him down a self-destructive path into alcohol abuse. READ MORE