FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: New Hampshire Municipal Association
Cowal Named Executive Director of the New Hampshire Municipal Association
Concord, NH (November 6, 2026) Jonathan Cowal has been appointed Executive Director of the New Hampshire Municipal Association. NHMA is a nonprofit, non-partisan membership organization comprised of all 234 NH municipalities established in 1941 for the purpose of exchanging information to facilitate more efficient and effective local government.
Cowal has served as Legal Services Counsel at NHMA since 2021, providing legal advice, training programs, and educational publications for NHMA’s members as part of the legal services team. Before joining NHMA, Jonathan served as a prosecutor in both Rockingham and Hillsborough County in the special victim’s unit.
As Executive Director of NHMA, Cowal will spearhead NHMA’s mission to support effective municipal government by leveraging the collaborative strengths of New Hampshire cities and towns through education, training, advocacy, and legal services. He replaces Margaret ML Byrnes, who left NHMA in July to pursue a new opportunity.
“A team of NHMA board members was formed to conduct the search for a new Executive Director, after an exhaustive review process with multiple strong candidates, the full Board of Directors is very pleased to announce the selection of Jonathan Cowal as NHMA’s next Executive Director. He will bring a rich variety of experience and a clear vision to continue the Association’s work on behalf of the State’s municipalities,” said Dennis Shanahan, Chair of the NHMA Board of Directors.
Cowal is a graduate of New England Law School with a law degree (Juris Doctor) and Bridgewater State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Cowal worked briefly as an associate attorney at the law firm of Falbo, Solari and Goldberg in Winthrop, Mass., before becoming an Assistant District Attorney for Essex County.
Cowal lives in New Boston with his family. He will assume his responsibilities as Executive Director of NHMA on November 9th, 2026.
NHMA engaged Kittleman & Associates to conduct a search for its new Executive Director. For more information about their services, visit https://www.kittlemansearch.com/ (opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab).
For more information about NHMA go to: NHMunicipal.org (opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab)
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