Cara Owsley is a national award-winning visual journalist/director of photography at The Cincinnati Enquirer.

In 2018 The Cincinnati Enquirer won a Pulitzer Prize in the local reporting category. The story "Seven Days of Heroin" was recognized by the Pulitzer board "for a riveting and insightful narrative and video documenting seven days of greater Cincinnati's heroin epidemic, revealing how the deadly addiction has ravaged families and communities." Owsley was a photojournalist and photo editor for the project.

Before working for The Enquirer, Owsley was a staff photojournalist at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Mississippi, and The Repository in Canton, Ohio. Owsley has been in the industry for 30 years.

Owsley found her love of photojournalism while attending Western Kentucky University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in photojournalism.

Owsley is passionate about mentoring young journalists. In 2018 she was a photography coach for Western Kentucky University's Mountain Workshop. In addition, Owsley was a video and photography coach for University of Kentucky’s Picture Kentucky Workshop in 2021 and 2022. In 2025 Owsley was a judge for Pictures of the Year International. She’s participated in numerous speaking engagements including the journalism/communications departments at University of Memphis, University of Cincinnati and Western Kentucky University.

Owsley serves on the board of the Greater Cincinnati Pro Chapter Society of Professional Journalists and a member of the National Association of Black Journalists including a founding member of the Wellness Task Force of NABJ. She is also an active member of the Cincinnati Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.