Reared in socially progressive Los Angeles, Drew Gowing rebelled by dropping out of the prestigious University of Southern California after a semester to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) on a full-time, two-year missionary assignment in Canada. Upon returning to the U.S., he transferred to Brigham Young University to read philosophy and earn the distinction Bachelor of Arts.
He began his career as an intern on the Senate Labor and Human Resource Committee in Washington DC, and ultimately cut his teeth in the Press Rooms on Capitol Hill. Here, public relations and political science combine into the incontrovertible truth that publishing ensures, supports and shapes the world of politics. A candidate for the JD/MPP in Law & Public Policy, he turned from Boston University to Management Consulting whereto advise leaders in business and government around the globe.
During the 2008 election year, three contingents of his past coincided when the LDS Church collected over $20M to promulgate the State of California’s Proposition 8. Herein Church, State, and Law collided in what is described as the only instance in U.S. history where civil and pre-existing rights were taken away from a specific and targeted minority. Invited to edit a political exposé the following month, he effectively re-entered the public sector to devote what he calls his ‘second act’ to its service.
Mr. Gowing is the inaugural editor of Charlatan Magazine.