Ashleigh Byrnes, Deputy National Communications Director
Ashleigh Byrnes, a combat veteran of the Afghanistan War, was appointed Deputy National Communications Director for the more than 1 million-member DAV in August 2014, assigned to the DAV National Service and Legislative Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
As Deputy National Communications Director, Byrnes’ responsibilities include managing and producing a wide variety of written, photographic and multi-media projects for DAV’s internal and external communications programs.
A life member of DAV Chapter 10 in Fairfax, Virginia, Byrnes enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in January 2004. Following duty as a broadcast journalist with American Forces Network Tokyo in 2009, Byrnes deployed to Afghanistan where she established and led the American Forces Network Kandahar news bureau to expand military broadcast coverage of combat operations.
Following her combat tour, Byrnes served as a supervisor and reporter for the Pentagon News Bureau where she managed daily production for the news bureau covering Defense Department news, policies and operations. She served as the military announcer for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Parade.
Byrnes holds numerous decorations and awards for combat service and humanitarian assistance as well as national awards for military broadcast journalism. She was honorably discharged in October 2011, and joined DAV as an Associate Communications Director at the Washington headquarters. In August 2012, she was promoted to Assistant National Communications Director, prior to being appointed to her current position.
A native of Oxford, Michigan, Byrnes holds a B.A. in English and an M.S. in Public Relations Management from the University of Maryland. She is also a graduate of the Basic Public Affairs Writers Course, Basic Public Affairs Broadcaster Course and Advanced Electronic Journalism Course from the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Byrnes resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband Brad and their two sons.