Profile
Colonel Stacy M. Hopwood is a public affairs officer in the United States Army serving as the last Director of Army Public Affairs Center. APAC will transition to the U.S. Army Public Affairs School and Army Proponent Office - Public Affairs in FY26. In her current role, she is the executive agent for the public affairs career field focused on the synchronization and integration of DOTMLPF-P in support of Army transformation.
Stacy was commissioned an Air Defense Artillery officer in 2002. As an Air Defense Artillery officer, Stacy held several leadership and staff positions in multiple environments including combat in Iraq and armistice in South Korea. After three years, she transferred to the Adjutant General (AG) Corps. As an AG officer, Stacy was a strategic planner for the Eighth Army G1 in Korea and a commander of troops twice including one as the theater support postal company in Korea and one in U.S. Army Recruiting in Huntsville, AL. In 2011, Stacy was selected to become a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) where she found her professional passion in communicating the stories of America’s soldiers to the American public. During her fourteen years as a PAO, Stacy has been responsible for developing communication strategies while managing media relations and community engagements for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) headquarters in Tennessee, Afghanistan, and Liberia for U.S. Army units and Joint Service Task Forces.
Stacy joined APAC from the Joint Staff where she worked in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff focused on strategic stakeholder engagement and Joint Public Affairs proponency. Prior to that she was the Director of Training for Leaders and an instructor at the Defense Information School, the Department of Defense’s school for Public Affairs, Communication Strategy, Journalism and Visual Storytelling.
She is a graduate of Centre College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. She holds a Master’s of Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University and a Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma. She has completed two years of coursework toward her doctoral degree in Executive Leadership and is ABD. Her area of emphasis is in leader self development.
Stacy has completed several leadership and specialty skill schools within the U.S. Army including Officer Basic Course, Officer Career Course, Command and General Staff College, Recruiting Marketing and Analysis Course, and the Public Affairs Qualification Course.
A few accomplishments she is most proud of are her contributions to the fight against the Ebola Epidemic in West Africa in 2014-2015, graduating from the Sabalauski Air Assault School in 2015, and leading a multi-service team in the development of adult-oriented curriculum focused on communication strategy and integration.
Stacy’s personal passion in life is traveling and music often combining the two. She has attended over 100 concerts in over 30 locations across her lifetime.
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