Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Ryan Cowley


Ryan Cowley began his career in 2003 when he was hired as the Webmaster and Computer Specialist for Summit County Utah. In 2005 Ryan got his start in elections by supporting Utah’s touch screen voting system. In 2007 he became the Chief Deputy County Clerk. With this new position came the responsibility of overseeing and administering all elections for Summit County. Ryan has always understood technology and searched out ways to implement new ideas into the election process. In April of 2016 Ryan was hired by Weber County to be their Elections Director. Ryan has been very involved in elections issues including legislation and the Lieutenant Governor’s iVote committee to study the feasibility of online voting. Ryan is CERA (Certified Elections Registrar and Administrator) certified through The Election Center at Auburn University.

Ryan was born and raised in Logan, Utah and naturally wanted to go to college at Utah State upon returning home from 2 years of religious service in Belo Horizonte Brazil. He graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Business Information Systems and a Portuguese Minor. He is currently enrolled in a Master’s of Public Administration program through Brigham Young University and will complete his Master’s Degree in 2018. Ryan married his wife Rebecca in 2000 and they are the proud parents of 5 children.

Ryan enjoys the outdoors and likes to hike with his family. Ryan’s family loves to see the beauty of Utah by getting off of the beaten path. Some of their favorite places to go are Moab, Kanab, and Vernal. Ryan is very involved with his children and enjoys coaching their teams. He has coached soccer, baseball, and basketball. The last three years, his basketball teams have won the Roy City championship and have made it to the multi-city tournament championship, winning it in 2015.

Ryan loves sports of all types. He holds Utah State Football season tickets and loves to cheer for the Aggies whenever they play. Ryan also enjoys watching baseball. He enjoys spending evenings at the ballpark watching the Ogden Raptors and Salt Lake Bees. Additionally Ryan enjoys playing basketball and has taken a recent interest in the disc golf.

Ryan has a deep appreciation and feel for history. He is well read in American and modern history and has the greatest appreciation for the men and women who fought in World War II. Ryan has sponsored several neighborhood activities to honor veterans and help others understand their sacrifices. In 2008 he organized a fireside for George Wahlen, a local WWII Medal of Honor recipient. The event garnered a lot of interest and participation from his neighborhood as over 400 people attended. In 2014 he helped coordinate a neighborhood event called “Honoring Neighborhood Veterans.” He made special posters about each veteran in the neighborhood and more than 30 of them came and displayed items they had collected from their service. To cap the night off he arranged to have D-day veteran Lee Foster speak about his experiences. Some of Ryan’s favorite books are Undaunted Courage, John Adams, Ghost Soldiers, Flags of our Fathers, None Died in Vain, and Nothing Like it in the World