Barbara Keebler

Barbara Keebler is a marketing communications specialist whose background includes corporate, non-profit organizations, and public relations firms. She is the president of Keebler  Marketing Communications, Washington, D.C., and also directs communications for the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators (NACPA), which serves the Human Resource directors in Catholic archdioceses and dioceses.

For 25 years, Ms. Keebler was the Director of Communications for the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), the largest non-profit educational association in the world, serving K-12, college and university, seminary, and religious education leaders.

During her tenure at the association, Ms. Keebler launched the NCEA Seton Awards to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to education in general and to  Catholic education in particular. Recipients have included Barbara Bush, Cardinals Timothy Dolan and Sean O’Malley, Roy Disney, Peter Lynch, Beverly Sills, and Father Ted Hesburgh.

As part of this endeavor, Ms. Keebler established the Seton Scholars program, providing scholarships for exceptional students with a strong moral compass and commitment to service.

Ms. Keebler initiated the National Marketing Campaign for Catholic Schools and coordinated  National Catholic Schools Week. She also established an annual meeting to bring the nation’s  bishops together with association leaders to discuss vital Catholic educational issues.

Prior to joining NCEA, Ms. Keebler was Director—Corporate Communications for Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) in Washington, D.C. In this role she coordinated Board activities, strategic messaging, and provided counsel, speech writing, and media training for senior executives.

Previously, as a Vice President with Edelman, Inc., the largest independent public relations company in the world, Ms. Keebler specialized in event planning and management, media relations, and op-ed placement. She also was a Vice President at Ruder Finn in Chicago,  focusing on association and real estate communications and staff recruitment and training.

Board Service 

In addition to Catholic Distance University, Ms. Keebler serves on the Board of Trustees for St. John’s College High School, Washington, D.C., and chairs the Advancement Committee. Ms. Keebler is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Bethel Church Memorial Association in Clarke County, Virginia.

She served on the Advisory Board of SOS Children’s Villages—USA for 15 years, helping lay the groundwork for the first SOS village in the United States.

Education and Honors 

Ms. Keebler is a graduate of Dominican University with a BA in English. She has pursued advanced communication studies through the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and New York University. She is the recipient of three Silver Anvil Awards, the highest honor conferred by PRSA for her work with the Kohler Co., the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Union Camp.

Ms. Keebler is a parishioner at Holy Trinity Church, Washington, D.C., and Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Winchester, Virginia. She and her husband, Terrence Giroux, are the parents of son Michael.