In 1996, after 11 years as director of the Visual Arts Center in Richmond, Virginia, Paula Owen became president of Southwest School of Art, where she has overseen the expansion of donors, programs, enrollment, property and facilities, historic preservation, and strategic planning. She retired in June of 2022.

Owen received her MFA degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and MS degree in art education from Minnesota State University. She has served on many boards and panels, including the Pew Artist Fellowships and the National Endowment for the Arts, and has served as curator for numerous exhibitions.

Her passion for art and artists extends beyond her administrative work, generating many published essays and a book, “Objects and Meaning: New Perspectives on Art and Craft,” published by Scarecrow Press in 2003. Throughout her career she has also continued to pursue her studio work, with a recent solo show at Studio Comfort Texas.

She is married to Ben Owen and has three children and six grandchildren.