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 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 only 13 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 two ELI projects:  Common Constitutional Traditions in Europe and Business and Human Rights: Access to Justice and Effective Remedies.

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 August 2019 to accept a Mayoral appointment to the Board of Commissioners of the Jacksonville Housing Authority. He was elected Vice-Chair in November 2019 and subsequently elected Chair in November 2020. He also currently Chairs the Governance Committee, tasked with rewriting the policies and by-laws of the agency.