Photo By Evan Crawley | Marc Boyd was hired in June 2024 as the head of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center...... read more read more
NEWPORT, R.I. – There was a time when Marc Boyd felt he was destined to perform on stage, though his new role as public affairs officer at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport still allows him to be front and center.
Boyd recently was named head of the Corporate Communications Division in the Corporate Operations Department, replacing Jeffrey Prater, who departed in October 2023. Boyd will oversee the Public and Congressional Affairs, the Visual Information Branch, and the Corporate Research and Information Center.
The 32-year-old Providence, Rhode Island, resident arrives in Newport after serving four years in a public affairs position with the U.S. Department Housing and Urban Development in Providence, and one year with the U.S. Space Force and its predecessor organization, the Air Force Space Command.
“My No. 1 thing is to help the public understand why NUWC Division Newport is here and why we’re important,” Boyd said. “But it’s also important to tell the story internally, too. For our organization, for every person who works here, it’s important to connect what they do — whether that’s emptying the trash or creating the next-generation sonar — to the reason why we’re here. Everyone here is crucial to the mission, and the role of the Public Affairs Office is to make sure people get that and feel connected.”
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Boyd is the son of two Episcopal priests. His father’s job took the family to Kentucky, then to Texas, where Boyd attended high school and developed a love for government and theater. Because he wanted to “go to a place where it snows,” Boyd enrolled at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
He majored in political science and joined the student-run theater club, where he met his future wife, Chelsea. The two starred in the university’s production of the musical “Curtains,” with Boyd playing a detective and Chelsea one of his suspects.
“I think theater is a great way to get comfortable in front of people,” Boyd said.
In 2019, he earned a master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College in New York City, and also enrolled in the Presidential Management Fellowship program, a highly competitive leadership development program operated by the federal government.
After completing the fellowship, Boyd and Chelsea, who was working in film and television, moved to Los Angeles, where Boyd filled a public affairs position with the Air Force Space Command. He played a key role as the organization changed its name to the U.S. Space Force.
When the COVID pandemic hit, the couple returned to Massachusetts to help care for an ailing family member. Boyd took a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, working remotely at first, then eventually out of the agency’s Providence office. Though he was with HUD for four years, he always knew he wanted to return to a branch of the Department of Defense.
During the transition from Los Angeles to Massachusetts, Boyd accepted a position with the R.I. Air National Guard, where he is the public affairs officer for the 143d Airlift Wing at Quonset Point Air National Guard Base in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. He attended Officer Training School in Alabama, and the position requires him to be available one weekend a month, then as needed throughout the year.
As the head of Public and Congressional Affairs at Division Newport, Boyd said he’s eager to get started, especially under the direction of new Technical Director Marie Bussiere.
“I’m fortunate to come in at a time with a new technical director, and I’d like to get to know her vision,” he said. “It’s always an exciting time at a place like this because we’re always pursuing the cutting edge, and that’s an exciting thing to be a part of.
NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.
Join our team! NUWC Division Newport, one of the 20 largest employers in Rhode Island, employs a diverse, highly trained, educated, and skilled workforce. We are continuously looking for engineers, scientists, and other STEM professionals, as well as talented business, finance, logistics and other support experts who wish to be at the forefront of undersea research and development. Please connect with NUWC Division Newport Recruiting at this site- https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport/Career-Opportunities/ and follow us on LinkedIn @NUWC-Newport and on Facebook @NUWCNewport.
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2024 15:43 |
| Story ID: | 475710 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Hometown: | PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
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