Member Profile

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Bob has 30 years of experience helping communities, most recently as the City Manager of Roanoke, Virginia. In addition to being a Credentialed Manager through ICMA, Bob is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and an accredited member of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Bob maintains membership in the International City/County Management Association, the Virginia Local Government Management Association, the Urban Land Institute, and the Society for American City and Regional Planning History. In addition to his work in Roanoke, Bob served on the faculty at Texas A&M University’s School of Architecture, serving as a Visiting Professor of Practice for 10 years, where he taught Policy Implementation, Evolving Cities, and other courses at the undergraduate level in the School’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning. In addition to his time in Virginia, Bob has worked as a professional planner and local government manager in both the public and private sector in Texas, Indiana, Michigan, and Missouri. Bob has served in multiple leadership capacities for various trade and community organizations and in an extended volunteer capacity in Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina. Bob earned his undergraduate degree from St. Louis University and his Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Tennessee. Bob is married to Ellen Cowell and both are the proud owners of rescue basset hounds. In his spare time, Bob enjoys hiking, photography and reading. He and Ellen enjoy traveling and visiting the many wonderful places that exist throughout the Nation