Richard F. Cowan, PE, PMP, DBIA, LEED AP
Cowan Construction Services
Dick Cowan is a veteran construction manager from a family of craftsmen and contractors. He holds degrees from Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley. After college, Dick entered the U.S. Navy and was commissioned in the Civil Engineer Corps. His active duty took him to Vietnam and Germany, and he held a commission as a Reserve Officer retiring as a Captain after command of a Regiment of 2,400 Navy Seabees. Dick has worked on many specialized public sector projects including the California Aqueduct, the California State Capitol Restoration, and the Denver Airport. He has held a warrant as a federal contracting officer and worked on design-build projects for the Defense Commissary Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. He is recognized as a leader in alternate project delivery in California and has authored the chapter on developer led project delivery for the Handbook of the Association of California Construction Managers. He served as Chapter President for the 1200 member Sacramento Chapter of the Project Management Institute and holds a Project Management Professional designation from that organization. For the last decade Dick has led integrated project delivery and design-build projects for general contractors serving California school districts. He lectures and writes frequently on these subjects. Dick has also coached project teams back on the tracks as a project neutral, and has served as an expert witness in construction dispute resolution venues.