Jessica L. Owens

Jessica Owens was appointed to the Rose Hall District School Board seat in May 2019. She was raised in Virginia Beach and graduated from Ocean Lakes High School. Owens has a bachelor’s in human services counseling from Old Dominion University and has completed graduate coursework in psychology and counseling at Cambridge College in Massachusetts. She began her career as a substitute teacher in Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) and went on to become a child welfare advocate as a social worker and a family services specialist for Child Protective Services (CPS) in Virginia Beach. She also recently served as a child forensic interviewer for Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters. Owens currently works as a child welfare curriculum developer for the Virginia Department of Social Services, where she uses her expertise in trauma-informed practice to train local department of social services child welfare staff and supervisors for the 120+ localities in the state. Owens is particularly interested in working to increase family engagement throughout the school division and connecting with governmental agencies and partners to best support the children of Virginia Beach. She has a son who also graduated from Ocean Lakes High School, and is raising her goddaughter who is currently enrolled in VBCPS.