Why He Matters
At a Glance
Current Position: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, Commerce Department
Career History: Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Commerce, Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) (2007 to 2009); Economic Development Agency Administrator for San Bernardino County, Calif.(2006 to 2007); Economic Development Manager for Ontario, Calif.(2000-2006); US Agency for International Development contractor in Bulgaria and Serbia (between 2000 and 2007); Economic Development specialist for Palm Springs, Calif. (1993 to 2000)
Birthday: November 15, 1968
Hometown: Born in the Bronx, New York
Alma Mater: University of California at Riverside, B.A. (political science), 1994; Claremont Graduate University, M.A. (Politics, Economics, and Business); Claremont Graduate University, PhD (American Politics and Policy) where he is a Michael and Mary Johnston Fellow
Spouse: Married
Religion: N/A
DC Office: U.S. Department of Commerce
McGowan describes his career as being at the intersection between global trade and investment and local business development. With his experience serving at multiple levels of government, he feels he brings a unique perspective to Washington.
“All economic development happens at the local level,” said McGowan. “My career path started at the local level, I’ve worked at cities and counties and states and now the federal government. I think that I bring a very unique perspective to federal economic development because I have that ground up experience as opposed to top down.”
He works directly with the Economic Development Administration (EDA), which is part of the Commerce Department. The EDA was created in 1965 to “generate jobs, help retain existing jobs, and stimulate industrial growth in economically distressed areas.”
“Our country has been part of a global economic crisis,” said McGowan in a 2010 interview. “The EDA’s job is to help the Obama administration turn that around and modernize the way we approach economic development.”
Path To Power
McGowan was born in The Bronx, N.Y., in 1968 and attended the University of California-Riverside, where he majored in political science and graduated in 1994. He received a master’s in politics, economics and business from Claremont Graduate University. He is also a Michael and Mary Johnston fellow at Claremont Graduate University where he is studying to receive his Ph.D.
With more than 15 years of economic-development experience in multiple levels of government, McGowan says that his work on the state, county and city levels gave him something different to take with him to Washington.In 1993, McGowan worked as an economic-development specialist for the city of Palm Springs, Calif. During his tenure, he created the Palm Springs Foreign Trade Zone and other offices to promote international trade and investment. He also served as a consultant to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to help cities in Bulgaria and Serbia develop economically.
From 2000 to 2006, McGowan worked for the city of Ontario, Calif., as its economic- development manager. He then became economic development agency administrator for San Bernardino County, where he oversaw the economic development, community development and housing, redevelopment, and workforce development departments.
In 2007, McGowan was appointed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) as deputy secretary for economic development and commerce in the state Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency.
In September 2009, McGowan was appointed U.S. deputy assistant secretary of Commerce and chief operating officer for the U.S. Economic Development Administration. In July 2010 , he led the Gulf Region Economic Solutions Group’s National Incident Command for the BP Oil Spill on behalf of the White House.information provided by McGowan office.
The Network
McGowan works closely with Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John Fernandez.
Before joining the Obama administration, McGowan worked with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) as deputy secretary for economic development and commerce for that state.