Incredible! A practicing structural engineer rises to the highest level of public leadership as one of the "Ten Outstanding Governors of the 20th Century" and ranks as one of the most powerful and distinguished leaders in the history of Washington state. Who is this man?

Daniel J. Evans, a consulting structural engineer (licensed both as a professional and a structural engineer), was only 39 when elected Washington’s governor. The youngest person ever to hold the office, Evans went on to serve an unprecedented three consecutive terms (1965-1977). He then became president of Evergreen State College and served in the U.S. Senate. Engineer Evans was so widely admired, respected, and untouched by scandal throughout his public life, that he was nicknamed "Straight Arrow."

Born in Seattle on Oct. 16, 1925, Evans was predisposed to both engineering and public leadership. His parents, politically active and civic-minded, interested him in a world beyond his Northwest roots. His maternal grandfather was in the Washington State Senate and his father served as King County Engineer.

After graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1943 in the midst of World War II, Evans became an ensign in the U.S. Navy. Afterward, he entered the University of Washington (UW) to study engineering, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1948, followed by a master’s degree a year later. He went to work for the city of Seattle’s structural engineering department. One of his first engineering assignments was designing the Alaska Way Viaduct along Seattle’s waterfront.

When the Korean War began in 1951, Evans re-entered the Navy as a lieutenant. After that war ended in 1953, he went into private practice. In 1956, Evans entered politics and won election to the Washington State House of Representatives, where he was an outspoken Republican among mostly Democrats. Ever the engineer, he campaigned on a platform of better roads, bridges, and metropolitan planning.

While on a skiing trip, the fast-rising engineer-legislator met Nancy Bell, a vivacious, outgoing music teacher and librarian. Also a Washington native, Bell graduated from Whitman College and her father, like Evans’s, was an engineer—a mining engineer from New York who’d settled in Spokane. Evans and Bell married in 1959 and had three sons, Daniel Jr., Mark, and Bruce.

In 1960, Evans and Vic Graves founded a consulting engineering firm, specializing in structural design, mostly for architects who designed high-rise apartments and buildings such as the Seattle Elks Club. They also engineered radio/communications towers and lookout structures for the Forest Service.

Evans began attracting national attention in the late 1960s. He was the keynote speaker at the 1968 Republican National Convention and chaired the National Governor’s Conference in 1974. Both Richard Nixon in 1968 and Gerald Ford in 1976 considered him as a vice-presidential running mate.

In September 1983, Evans was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat left after the death of Henry "Scoop" Jackson. Two months later, Evans won a special election to complete the remaining five years of Jackson’s term. Senator Evans served on the Energy and Natural Resources, Foreign Relations, and Indian Affairs committees.

After leaving the Senate in 1987, Evans served as a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, and then re-opened his Seattle-based consulting firm, Daniel J. Evans Associates. From 1989 until 1994, he also was a commentator for KIRO-TV and still contributes editorials to national publications on issues from global warming and treaty rights to the "nasty partisanship" that characterize politics today. His administrations were characterized by bi-partisan cooperation, demonstrating a long-held conviction that engineers can change that aspect of politics.

In 1993, Evans joined the Board of Regents for UW and quickly made his presence known. As reported by The Seattle Times, "At meetings where everyone is exceedingly polite, Evans pokes for answers in a booming, made-for-television voice. Administrators noticeably squirm when he’s around." When Evans was reappointed to the Board in 1999, The Times wrote, "As a governor, former U.S. senator, and president of Evergreen State College, few can match Evans’s breadth and depth of knowledge, experience, and commitment to public service."

An influential leader and role model, Evans has held (or holds) leadership positions in dozens of corporate, education, and non-profit boards. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs established by UW.

Evans believes having structural engineers involved in community affairs and politics benefits everyone. He says, "Society is too dependent on technology today not to have engineers in public leadership. It’s a waste of talent not to have those with strong engineering backgrounds making vital decisions involving growth, infrastructure, and the environment. All engineers need to do is show up with a broad perspective." That’s exactly what Evans did!

Richard Weingardt, P.E., is CEO and chairman of Richard Weingardt Consultants, Inc., a Denver-based structural engineering firm. He can be reached via e-mail at rweingardt@gostructural.com.