Speaker:
Josh Rowan
Commissioner, Atlanta Department of Transportation (ATLDOT)
Josh Rowan has been appointed Commissioner of Atlanta’s new Department of Transportation (ATLDOT) formed to significantly accelerate and diversify projects with better options for getting around Atlanta safely, affordably and equitably.
Born Texan, raised New Mexican, and lived his adult life as a Georgian, Josh attended Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, GA) as a basketball walk-on, earning a scholarship before transferring to the Georgia Institution of Technology (Georgia Tech).
Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Josh remained in Atlanta and spent the first five years of his career working with a local highway contractor. There, he learned the road building business from multiple perspectives – laborer, foreman, estimator, and project manager. Later, as a consultant in Cobb County, Josh was introduced to the management of large capital construction programs.
For nearly two decades, Josh has worked in the public sector as a program manager for transportation, transit, education, healthcare, and law enforcement capital construction programs throughout the eastern United States, as well as Mozambique and Tanzania. Most recently, he served as General Manager for the City of Atlanta’s Renew | TSPLOST Program.
Josh is a member of Leadership Atlanta Class of 2012, Leadership Cobb Class of 2013, and Regional Leadership Institute Class of 2018. Of all his achievements, knowledge and experience, these are, without a doubt, the classes that mattered most.
Throughout his career, Josh has been actively engaged in the Atlanta community, serving for a decade as a reserve deputy in Cobb County. He is currently a board member for Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta and the Construction Infrastructure Systems Engineering Board at Georgia Tech. In addition, he is an emeritus member for Georgia Tech’s External Advisory Board for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He also mentors for the 100 Men to Mentors Challenge and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta.
Josh is a member of the Alliance Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team where he is a purple belt and trains under professor Leonardo Nogueira. He serves on the vestry at Village Church, a local Anglican congregation.
He and his wife, Nancy Ladson Rowan, have four children – John, Dorothy, Ed, and Josie, who range in age from 2 to 18.