Reflections on Leadership: Former Board Chair Dr. Peter Cowhey on Two Decades with CCST

After nearly 20 years of service with the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), including eight years serving as Board Chair, Dr. Peter Cowhey leaves behind an organization that has grown in reach, credibility, and impact across California’s science and technology policy landscape.

A leader with extensive experience in nonprofit governance and U.S. trade and technology policy, Cowhey was well-equipped to bring transformational change to an organization like CCST. In addition to serving in the Clinton and Obama Administrations, Cowhey is Dean Emeritus and Qualcomm Chair Emeritus of the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy, where he served as dean from 2002 to 2021. He also held the Qualcomm Endowed Chair in Communications and Technology Policy from its inauguration until his retirement.

Over the course of his career, Cowhey has bridged academia, government, and global policy— serving as chief of the International Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, where he negotiated major international telecommunications agreements, and later as senior counselor to the U.S. Trade Representative, helping shape the nation’s trade strategy. He has also held leadership roles across the nonprofit and international policy landscape, including work with the Aspen Institute and advisory groups to the US government on U.S.-China innovation policy. He also chaired the board of the Grameen Foundation, an international non-profit working to reduce poverty. These experiences have created a uniquely global, cross-sector perspective to his leadership. 

Cowhey was named to CCST’s Council in 2007 and became Vice Chair in 2011. He served as Chair of the Board of Directors from September 2018 until March 2026. Under his leadership, CCST expanded its fellowship and advisory programs, launched the Disaster Resilience Initiative and AI Policy Initiative, and strengthened partnerships with California’s state agencies and research institutions.

Reflecting on his time with CCST, Cowhey describes an organization that has grown and matured over time into a trusted resource for policymakers across California. When he stepped into the role of Board Chair, his focus was on helping guide that continued evolution— strengthening governance, clarifying policies and procedures, and positioning CCST for long-term success. 

Expanding the Ways Science Informs Policy

CCST’s job, in Cowhey’s words, is “to serve State government by providing credible science and technology advice on the decisions California faces.”

One of the ways CCST delivers that advice to California policymakers is through major, in-depth studies. Modeled after the process of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, these studies mobilize top experts across California and continue to serve as a cornerstone of CCST’s work, providing rigorous analysis and actionable, high-impact recommendations for policymakers.

At the same time, because these studies require significant time to produce, CCST has expanded and innovated its portfolio of advisory approaches, ensuring policymakers also have access to timely, responsive insights in a fast-moving policy environment. Expert briefings emerged as a way to provide policymakers with rapid, balanced perspectives from leading experts while maintaining rigorous standards.

“That was a major achievement,” Cowhey says. “We found a way to deliver digestible insights quickly while preserving credibility.”

More recently, CCST has taken a step into deeper engagement formats, including a Science Residency program that places senior-level Science Advisors directly inside Cabinet Secretaries’ offices. The Legislative Staff Academy on AI, launched in 2025, is another landmark in CCST’s growth. This multi-session program provides, in Cowhey’s words, “a distilled executive education experience based on our credible expertise, bringing together diverse viewpoints for people who are the everyday leaders in making governance work in California.” 

The Lasting Impact of the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows

Among CCST’s initiatives, Cowhey points to the Science & Technology Policy Fellowship program as one of the organization’s most significant and enduring contributions. 

Each year, PhD scientists and engineers serve in policy roles in the Legislature and Executive Branch, bringing technical expertise directly into government decision-making. But Cowhey says the program’s long-term influence extends far beyond each individual fellowship year.

Over the program’s 17-year history, an extraordinary alumni network has emerged. A large portion of alumni stay in the Sacramento region and continue working in government, nonprofits, or industry roles connected to public policy. That growing network—186 alumni and counting— has created a powerful ecosystem linking science and government across California.

“They provide a channel through which our advice can be amplified,” Cowhey says. “And they also give us feedback for understanding the issues confronting policymakers who ask us for advice.”

Looking Ahead: California’s Science and Technology Leadership

As Cowhey reflects on CCST’s future, he believes the organization is well positioned to play an important role in one of California’s defining challenges: sustaining its global leadership in science and technology.

“In the past, much of the conversation has focused on using science to address specific challenges—wildfires, energy, resilience,” he says. “Those are incredibly important. But increasingly, California is also asking a broader question: how do we maintain our position as a science and technology powerhouse?”

Cowhey sees CCST as uniquely positioned to help the state think about that question strategically.

“The organization can play a valuable role in shaping how California nurtures science and technology at a fundamental level,” he says. “That commitment to discovery and innovation has always been central to the state’s leadership.”

As CCST enters its next chapter under the Board leadership of Dr. Andy McIlroy, Cowhey says he’s optimistic about the organization’s trajectory.

“The strength of CCST has always come from the community behind it—the scientists, engineers, policymakers, and institutions working together,” he says. “Our recommendations represent the best non-partisan thinking that the combined talent of California’s education and research institutions can provide. If we continue building on that foundation, the opportunities ahead are tremendous.”

In 2024, Peter Cowhey oversaw the establishment of the CCST AI Policy Initiative, elevating a seed donation from the Jacobs Family Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation with a matching donation from the CCST board. You can support Cowhey’s legacy and further CCST’s work by giving in his honor. Donate to the AI Policy Funding Campaign.

Read CCST’s Board Chair Transition announcement

Read a Message from CCST’s New Board Chair, Dr. Andy McIroy

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About the California Council on Science and Technology
The California Council on Science and Technology is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that serves as a trusted source of expert science and technology advice for California policymakers—powered by a world-class partner network. CCST was established via a unanimous vote of the California State Legislature in 1988 to make California’s policies stronger with science and technology.