Mark D. Cowan Partner

Partner, Patton Boggs

He draws on his more than 30 years of experience working on complex domestic and international public policy issues to counsel a broad range of clients. He advises corporations, government entities and foreign sovereigns on a wide array of business, regulatory and trade issues. A member of Patton Boggs ' management, Mr. Cowan coordinates and oversees business development for the firm.

Mr. Cowan joined Patton Boggs after a long and successful career in the Washington public affairs industry. He served as president of Columbus Public Affairs and as chief executive officer of Newmyer Associates, a public affairs and strategic intelligence firm. He was vice chairman of Cassidy & Associates and a founder and chief executive officer of The Jefferson Group. Earlier, Mr. Cowan served at Gray & Company and Hill & Knowlton Public Relations, counseling numerous domestic and international clients.

Before entering the private sector, Mr. Cowan held presidential appointments in three administrations. During the first Reagan administration, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health until his appointment as Chief of Staff and Counselor to the Secretary of Labor in 1982. Later, President George H.W. Bush appointed him as a Commissioner on the National Commission on Employment Policy. Most recently, President George W. Bush appointed him as a Member of the President's Council on the 21st Century Work Force.

Besides his presidential appointments, Mr. Cowan held several other government posts. He was Counsel to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (ethics) of the U.S. House of Representatives. He also served at the Central Intelligence Agency as an operations officer, seeing service abroad and as a country desk chief in the agency's Directorate of Operations, and later held the position of Assistant Legislative Counsel to the Director of Central Intelligence. In the military, he was a rated officer in the U.S. Air Force.

Professional Affiliations: Member, Committee on the Future of the Workplace, President's Council on the 21st Century Work Force Vice-Chairman of the Board, Center on Congress, Indiana University Board of Advisors, Virginia Military Institute's International School Lecturer, University of Texas Executive MBA Program National Defense Executive Reserves, Department of Homeland Security Association of Former Intelligence Officers Board of Advisors, Liquidity Services Inc. Board of Directors, America Scores, nationwide inner-city youth program