OGDEN, Utah, March 2, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The The Weber-Morgan Board of Health named Brian Cowan, a 25-year veteran environmental health scientist and division director with the department, as its new executive director and Health Officer.
Cowan replaces Brian Bennion, who retired after six years in the position.
Cowan holds a bachelor of Zoology from Weber State University and a Masters of Public Health from Westminster College, the Board’s statement says. He is an active member of the Utah Environmental Health Association where he acted in many capacities, advocating for Weber-Morgan Health Department and public health on a statewide level.
His past employment includes instructing onsite wastewater treatment courses for Utah State University, an adjunct professor of Environmental Health at Westminster College, and a stint operating a hotel and restaurant in Tropic, Utah. His most recent position with the Weber-Morgan Health Department has been as its director of administration.
“I am looking forward to this opportunity to lead our department through the end of the pandemic and looking at new ways of addressing and improving the vital work of public health in our community,” Cowan said in the prepared statement.
A longtime champion of air quality, Cowan helped modernize the department’s
mobile source and vehicle emissions programs. He said evidence based interventions and community collaborations will remain top priorities as the two-county health district is expected to see continued population growth in the coming decades.
The Weber-Morgan Health Department serves nearly 265,000 residents.
