Former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives
Russell Wesley Bowers is recently retired from EPCOR.
From 1992 to 2022, Rusty spent nearly two decades in the Arizona Legislature. He served as Chairman of the House Environment and Government Operations Committees as well as the Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman, Senate Majority leader and Senate Majority Floor leader. He recently completed four years as Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.
His legislative service was largely focused on natural resource issues, including the successful effort to pass the Arizona Drought Conservation Plan for the Colorado River. He was a leader in reforming Arizona natural resource and environmental law, along with numerous subject matter committee chairmanships and memberships. He currently serves as an appointee of the Supreme Court as a member of the Arizona Judicial Council, and of Governor Hobbs as a member of the Arizona-Mexico Commission.
Rusty is a forth-generation Arizonan, currently celebrating 50 years of marriage with wife Donetta, along with seven children and 23 grandchildren. He holds a a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Brigham Young University (BYU) (Sculpture and Painting-cum laude). He is a well known artist – sculptor and painter, working among the Tarahumara Indian community in Mexico spanning twenty years, and known for numerous portrait busts and heroic sculptures. He has been named Legislator of the Year, received the prestigious Arizona Heritage Award, the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award from Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, and most recently the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Joe Biden.
