Kelly Owens has joined the Civil Air Patrol team as senior director of marketing and strategic communications.
A seasoned communications professional, Owens most recently served in a senior communications role at the National Institutes of Health. Before that, she worked for the U.S. Air Force as chief of public affairs for the 624th Regional Support Group in Honolulu and Air Combat Command in Langley, Virginia.
Owens has also served in communications leadership roles with Wake County government in Raleigh, North Carolina; Altitude Marketing in Emmaus, Pennsylvania; and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
“Serving in this role for CAP is one I take seriously,” she said. “I look forward to working with this incredible team — both staff and volunteers — to elevate our stories of service and leadership to inspire others to contribute meaningfully to their communities.
“I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Owens reports to Chief Growth Officer Kristina Jones, who oversees the Development and Marketing and Strategic Communications teams and the CAP Foundation.
Jones welcomed Owens’ addition to the team.
“Kelly connected immediately with our opportunity to better share stories of CAP’s impact,” she said. “She is already focused on the importance of publicizing the extraordinary accomplishments of our members.
“We know this will attract new members and donors and extend our brand to stakeholders and potential partners. Her background working with the Air Force supports our efforts to fortify CAP’s role as a Total Force partner.”
The senior director of marketing and strategic communications develops, leads, and executes CAP’s overall brand strategy and marketing and strategic communications plan. This includes integrated marketing, field marketing, brand strategy, internal and external communications, public service announcement campaigns, social media, and creative services.
Owens works with a small team of paid professionals at CAP National Headquarters, a team of volunteers on national staff, and a large group of volunteer public affairs officers serving in squadrons, wings, and regions throughout CAP.
Her passion for service became evident when she was 23. After landing a role at Goldman Sachs on Wall Street after college, she felt called to serve with AmeriCorps, where she worked with at-risk teenage girls.
The experience led her to seek opportunities with organizations committed to the common good. From AmeriCorps she went on to work for Special Olympics Pennsylvania and continued a purpose-driven path forward.
She lives in Fort Knox, Kentucky, with her husband, Carpaccio, an active-duty soldier, and their Corgi, Lamont.
