Bob Bowen

It’s clear that Bob’s role at the Forum differs from everyone else’s when you hear the title of his master’s thesis: “Contemporary Japanese Quality Control.”

An engineer and businessman, Bob spearheads fund development with for-profit organizations to support the Forum’s Ready by 21® mission, provides management assistance with Ready by 21 Technical Partners and serves as in-house resource on systems-thinking and application of quality engineering principles to the Forum team.

Bob came to the Forum in 2010 after running his own consulting firm, r. bowen international, for nearly two decades. Before that, Bob worked in various engineering and leadership capacities for 19 years with E.I. DuPont de Nemours. Bob is internationally recognized as a quality systems expert, specializing with innovative for-profit, nonprofit and governmental organizations, and has published numerous technical and commercial articles. He played a pivotal role in developing the Youth Standards Project at the Community Quality Institute in Pittsburgh, Pa., which created quality standards for youth-serving agencies.

Bob received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Arts in Industrial Relations, with a focus in Industrial Engineering, and holds various engineering and professional certifications. “More significant education,” he says, “comes from running my own business, raising four children and being married 38 years to the lovely Diane.”