Dr. Jenny Owens is a strategic leader, educator, and researcher whose work bridges academic innovation, system strategy, and social impact. She serves as Vice Provost of Academic Affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), providing executive oversight of academic programs, enterprise risk, and cross-institutional initiatives at one of the nation’s leading health science, human service, and law universities.
Her research focuses on health-related social needs, particularly temporary lodging as a critical, yet often overlooked, factor in patient and caregiver access to care. Jenny entered this work through lived experience: after her son’s rare diagnosis, she saw firsthand how families traveling for treatment are pushed to their limits. This perspective fuels her commitment to advancing tools and evidence that ease those burdens.
She is founder of the Healthcare Housing Lab, leading national studies on medical lodging ecosystems and creating the Healthcare Housing Navigator—the first national tool cataloging all known lodging support in the U.S. She also co-chairs the Healthcare Hospitality Network’s research-to-practice committee, working with 140+ member organizations to strengthen support for families.
Jenny’s leadership emphasizes service, innovation, and collaboration. She has launched more than 20 graduate programs aligned with workforce needs, reduced barriers to student access, and advanced initiatives that recognize caregivers as essential to the care ecosystem. As deputy to the provost, she builds trusted partnerships with academic, state, and nonprofit leaders to guide institutional strategy.
A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leader and Warnock Social Innovation Fellow, Jenny holds degrees from UNC–Chapel Hill, East Stroudsburg University, and the University of Baltimore. She teaches graduate courses in leadership and health innovation and is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation.
Her work is united by one belief: systems should serve people.