Meet David McGowan: Focusing on the Future of the Peninsula by Preserving the Past

With a stalwart commitment to give back to the community from which he has received, Palos Verdes resident David McGowan is focused on the future of the Peninsula. Philanthropist and community contributor McGowan calls Palos Verdes an oasis within Los Angeles. With an unrivaled beauty and peaceful environment, he is dedicated to preserving the unique heritage of Palos Verdes Estates.

“I believe in preparing this community for the next generation. We formed the Palos Verdes Estates Foundation, not for the old-timers like me, but for the younger families. We want them to experience the same spirit of community that we have enjoyed,” says McGowan, the former Mayor of Palos Verdes Estates and a current City Councilman.
McGowan and other civic leaders and volunteers formed the nonprofit Palos Verdes Estates Foundation in late 2019, just before the Pandemic started, intending to beautify and enhance the cultural offerings of PVE. “When I was asked to run for office, I looked around and thought, isn’t there a foundation that can provide incremental funds to this community that the city cannot otherwise provide? And the answer was no. So, we formed the Palos Verdes Estates Foundation to strengthen our community by encouraging philanthropy through public-private partnerships augmenting cultural, recreational, lifestyle and safety programs. Given our short history we have made unbelievable progress,” says a happy McGowan.

Part of the mission of the Palos Verdes Estates Foundation is to create a sense of community. McGowan says there are plans to hold movie nights, social gatherings and concerts appropriate for all ages. The Foundation is recording legacy interviews with long-time residents to preserve these legacies for future generations; providing beautification in front of city hall and many other places in Malaga Cove and Lunada Bay in addition to funding a “Needs Assignment” for the City Hall Complex. As to the future, the Foundation has a growing list of potential projects which the city cannot otherwise afford, and residents are coming forward with additional suggestions. The Foundation desires to provide a leadership role in the upcoming centennial milestone of PVE. “We have raised over a million dollars so far, and good news, we were granted 501(c)(3) status, making donations tax-deductible.” This is immense for residents, McGowan explains. He goes on to state that given the list of opportunities for the Foundation they welcome community volunteers. It will take a village of volunteers to achieve these goals while at the same time creating that “sense of community” embraced in our mission statement. The Palos Verdes Estates Foundation proudly celebrated the restoration, and repair of the Farnham Martin Fountain outside the Malaga Cove Library recently. The care and keeping of this historical PV landmark would have been impossible without McGowan’s enormous efforts. The Foundation’s leadership, coupled with the volunteer effort and financial support of the community made this a success!

“We restored the fountain, and we illuminated it for the first time in history,” he says. “It’s very special.” The Foundation has provided body cams and drones to the PVE police, and McGowan is enthusiastic about what he calls a long list of things they want to do.

David and Lynn McGowan, who have four grown sons and five grandchildren, certainly appreciate, and enjoy the exceptional Palos Verdes lifestyle. “When we were first transferred to Los Angeles in 1995 by my company PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP (PwC) we were taken to Malibu and that side of the bay. We had friends who told us to try the other side of the bay. We did, and we loved it here! We are still in the same house we bought 27 years ago. It was a spec in Lunada Bay and under construction. The uniqueness of the PV Peninsula is what we wanted. The climate is perfect, and there is no congestion,” McGowan says.

It was a faster-paced life when the couple arrived in LA from Minnesota. He worked full-time before formally retiring from PwC in 2008 but has never stopped volunteering.

He says growing up with his family in Minneapolis provided him with deep philanthropic roots, and he believes service to the community is a calling. Although he still maintains a consulting practice in Lunada Bay, McGowan gives most of his time serving others. He has been actively involved in dozens of civic and professional organizations over the years. Notably, McGowan was a Board Member and Chief Financial Officer for the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games and a Founding Member and Treasurer for the Los Angeles Parks Foundation. McGowan generously gave his time to many HOA’s over the years as well.

“When we were first in LA, Lynn connected to the Palos Verdes community. She might not have realized she was laying the groundwork, but she developed many friendships on the hill, so after I retired, we reinvested ourselves in this community.” In their spare time they are both gourmet cooks, love to entertain and travel around the world. McGowan shares some small world stories that show his connectedness. “I had a fraternity brother from college who just happened to live on the hill. He was from Illinois, and I was from Minnesota, we attended college in Colorado and we both ended up in Palos Verdes,” he laughs. When he discovered an old grade school and high school classmate also lived on the hill, they reconnected in one of those special Palos Verdes moments that local compadres understand well.

The last few years have been difficult on many levels, but McGowan is hopeful for the future. “Residents want to get out; they have a love for our community and have a love and belief in our small-town attributes. With all the troubles going on in the world, that’s what’s at risk, and this Foundation is a way to preserve what we have and help and provide. We want the younger residents to enjoy the same things.” McGowan says that the way families of young children are coming out and supporting the Foundation is apparent; they want the same things.