RG COWAN DESIGN BUILD TEAM
Ryan Cowan
Owner I Operator
Ryan Cowan grew up in the Midwestern United States and was mentored by his father Robert E. Cowan. Robert E. Cowan owned and operated Cowan Homes, a custom home building company, from 1977 to 2005. Ryan has 20+ years in the construction industry and has operated as a Design Builder and General Contractor on the western slope of Colorado since 1999. In 2005, Ryan began pursuing a better understanding of Green Building practices and the science of cold climate construction methods through continuing education and involvement in Built Green Colorado and the Energy Star program. In 2008, RG Cowan Design Build designed and built its first Energy Star, Built Green Colorado certified home, achieving a five star Energy Star rating on this home and certifying it through the Built Green Colorado program. Still seeking a better understanding of Sustainable Design and construction, in 2009 Ryan left the Grand Junction area to attend CU-Boulder to pursue a degree in Environmental Design. Having completed the Environmental Design degree program in 2012, Ryan returned to the western slope of Colorado in 2013 to re-establish RG Cowan Design Build and to pursue his love of design and home building.
“For me, pursuing additional education is a journey of understanding how our environment is changing and what we should be doing about it. The facts are telling us to act and find new ways to think and do. It is important that we begin to accept the scope of this problem and the implications for the natural world, our kids, and future generations to come. We need to learn how to adjust our lives, our thinking and our businesses to this new paradigm. The idea that massive change doesn’t have to come to us through mandate is important to me. I believe that as determined, creative people, we can educate ourselves and each other to find new ways of living in this world. It is by caring about our planet and thinking of the quality of life for all, that we can make a world where future generations can thrive.”
Miranda Schowalter
Administrative Coordinator
At RG Cowan Design Build, Miranda focuses on design selections and clerical coordination. She was raised in Collbran, CO and considers herself very fortunate to have spent her childhood surrounded by wide open spaces in a tight-knit community. She loves the outdoors and dedicates her free time to skiing, rock climbing and mountain biking. In May of 2021, Miranda earned her Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Management from Colorado Mesa University. Her business education provides an analytical foundation, while RG Cowan Design Build offers a creative environment for her to build a career in home design.
Chase Veldboom
Project Coordinator
Chase took the opportunity to be the Project Coordinator for the RG Cowan Design Build team after graduating from Montana State with a Construction Engineering degree. He and his wife, Kelsey, moved to the Grand Junction area shortly after becoming parents to their daughter, Sailor. Growing up in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, Chase and his family have a deep love for the outdoors. Exploring, hiking and camping go hand in hand with the Grand Valley and surrounding Rocky Mountains. When Chase is not managing projects for RG Cowan, their family is taking weekend trips with their dogs in the mountains or spending time playing guitar with their parrot on his shoulder. Chase’s biggest goals are to help build a world where Sailor will thrive, and to make every day a new adventure with his best friend, Kelsey.
Melissa Lind
Marketing Director
Melissa attributes her diverse computer skills to playing video games as a child. Her first 10 year career as a practicing LEED landscape architect honed her taste for residential and commercial design in the Bay Area and Colorado.
Her design pedigree began with her great grandfather, a Greenwich, Connecticut landscape architect who worked for the Olmsted Brothers (sons of Frederick Law Olmstead, the Landscape Architect of Central Park).
Having lived in Colorado, Arizona, Vancouver, California, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and Spain, she and her family (husband, toddler, cat) are happy to stake a claim in Taos, New Mexico; a big-culture little-town. She is inspired by the possibilities of the wild wild web and working with amazing people.