She is the youngest daughter of David Rockefeller and Margaret "Peggy" McGrath.
Eileen is a member of the fourth generation of the Rockefeller family widely known as "the Cousins".
In 1982, she founded and was president of the Institute for the Advancement of Health, dealing principally with the scientific understanding of mind-body interactions in health and disease; this subject has evolved into what is now called Emotional Intelligence.
Growald, who describes herself as a venture philanthropist, is also the founding chair of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, set up in New York by various members of the family in 2002.
After her brother David Rockefeller Jr., she is seen as a leader of the family's fourth generation, one of whose major funding priorities is reducing the threat of nuclear war.