About Billy Atwell

Helping Leaders Navigate Change, Build Trust, and Lead With Clarity

Billy Atwell is a strategic communications and organizational leadership executive with more than 14 years of experience helping mission-driven organizations navigate growth, change, crisis, and public scrutiny.

Throughout his career, Billy has worked with senior leaders at the intersection of leadership, organizational culture, communications, brand, and reputation. He has advised bishops and other senior executives, led large communications teams, built organizational brands, managed complex communications operations, and helped organizations communicate clearly when the stakes were high.

Today, Billy brings that experience to Atwell Consulting, where he works directly with leaders and organizations facing moments of transition, leadership change, organizational challenge, or crisis.

Experience Across Complex Organizations

Billy has served in senior communications and leadership roles across nonprofit, advocacy, religious, and public-policy organizations.

Before launching Atwell Consulting, Billy served as Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at the America First Policy Institute, where he led strategic messaging, branding, and public engagement for a rapidly growing national policy organization. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Communications at Alliance Defending Freedom, leading a team of more than 50 professionals across public relations, marketing, social media, and digital media.

Billy spent more than a decade in senior communications roles within the Catholic Church, including serving as Chief Communications Officer for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. In that role, he served as the Bishop's spokesperson and oversaw the diocese's communications operation, including media relations, digital communications, publications, social media, and the Arlington Catholic Herald.

Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Communications for the Dioceses of Raleigh and Venice and held positions in digital communications, program management, and public policy in the Washington, D.C., area. He earned degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from East Carolina University.

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Billy Atwell is a strategic communications and organizational leadership executive with more than 14 years of experience helping organizations navigate growth, change, and complex challenges.

Throughout his career, Billy has worked with senior leaders across the Catholic Church, nonprofit, advocacy, and public-policy sectors. He has led communications teams, developed organizational brands, advised executives, and helped organizations strengthen their culture, reputation, and relationships with the people they serve.

Billy founded Atwell Consulting to bring that experience directly to leaders and organizations facing moments of transition, leadership change, organizational growth, or crisis.

His approach is simple: understand the problem, tell the truth about what is happening, and help leaders move forward with clarity and confidence.

Billy believes strong organizations are built on trust, clear communication, healthy culture, and leadership that follows through on its values.

Experience

Billy has served in senior communications roles with organizations including the America First Policy Institute, Alliance Defending Freedom, and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington. His experience spans strategic communications, organizational leadership, public relations, branding, media relations, and crisis communications.

He holds degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from East Carolina University and lives in Virginia with his wife and four children.