Jon McGowan

 Jon studied international relations while pursuing his degree from the University of Florida. While studying at Florida State University College of Law, he was presented the opportunity to study European and English law at the University of Oxford, Saint Edmund (Teddy) Hall in a joint program with FSU. He also studied international corporate governance in London, UK, with the University of Iowa College of Law under retired Delaware Supreme Court Justice Randy Holland. Jon had planned to further his international studies in 2020, being admitted to Cornell Law School to study at the Cornell-Paris I Summer Institute, a joint international law program with Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. Unfortunately, the program was canceled due to COVID-19. 

In 2021, Jon was admitted to the #2 ranked Global Executive MBA program at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai.  This part time program for experienced global business executives meets bi-monthly, rotating between campuses in Shanghai, China; Zurich, Switzerland; Barcelona, Spain; and Accra, Ghana. Jon is the first American admitted to this program in over six years.

In 2020, Jon was selected as a Fellow at the European Law Institute (ELI) in Vienna, Austria.  He is one of 1,500 legal scholars  in the world, one of less than 15 Americans, to participate in the drafting of Model Rules, Proposals, and studies. ELI "aims to improve the quality of European law. It seeks to initiate,  conduct and facilitate research, to make recommendations, and to provide  practical guidance in the field of European legal development and the development of European law" by the European Union and the Council of Europe. He serves on the Administrative Law SIG and the Environmental Law SIG. He is on the Members Consultative Committee for the following ELI projects:  Freedom of Expression as a Common Constitutional Tradition in Europe (2020-2021); Business and Human Rights: Access to Justice and Effective Remedies (2020-2021); Corporate Sustainability, Financial Accounting and Share Capital (2021 – Present); European Standards of Judicial Independence (2021 – Present).  

Jon had the honor of serving on the transition team for then Mayor-elect Lenny Curry. Jon served on the Streamlining for Growth and Opportunity Committee which was tasked with examining business and environmental regulations in the City of Jacksonville, FL. During that time, he developed a reputation for diligence and dedication to serving as needed. In 2017, Jon was appointed by Mayor Curry to the Duval County Elections Advisory Panel, which he chaired from 2019-2020. 

In 2018, Jon was appointed by the Jacksonville City Council President to the Duval County Taxation, Revenue, Utilization and Expenditures (TRUE) Commission. He was subsequently reappointed by the next Council President, Aaron Bowman. He resigned that position in 2019 to accept a Mayoral appointment to the Board of Commissioners of the Jacksonville Housing Authority. He was elected Vice-Chair for 2019-2020 and subsequently elected Chair for 2020-2021.