Commissioner Lowans graduated from Dartmouth College, cum laude, and received his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1975.  He has served as Court Commissioner of the Kitsap County Superior Court since 1994.

Commissioner Lowans served three years active duty in the U.S. Navy as a Judge Advocate General, and retired in 1996 after 22 years of reserve service.  He practiced law in Kitsap County for nearly 15 years before being appointed to the Superior Court Bench.  Prior to his appointment, Commissioner Lowans served as Judge Pro Tempore in both District and Superior Courts of Kitsap County, and he was the Land Use Hearing Examiner for Kitsap County in 1993.  He is a past President of the Kitsap County Bar Association. 

Commissioner Lowans was instrumental in establishing the Courthouse Facilitator Program in Kitsap County in 1995.  In 2001 he started a Youth Court for high school students as an official diversion program of the Juvenile Court.  In addition to his judicial duties, he has served on the Superior Court Judges' Family and Juvenile Law Committee since 1997, and was a Trustee and representative of the Superior Court Judges' Association to Washington State CASA (2002-06).  Commissioner Lowans has been a faculty member of the Washington State Judicial College (2002-2006 and 2009-2010).  He is a contributing author to the state Juvenile Non-Offender Bench Book, and has attended courses at the National Judicial College concerning domestic relations, dependencies and best practices in working with self represented litigants.