Owens was a very active member of her community, particularly for the local schools. She worked as a substitute teacher and was heavily involved as a volunteer for Cherokee Lane Elementary school and Buck Lodge Junior High. When Owens heard that a local school didn't have an art program, she reached out to Gail Kushner (wife of Mayor Al Kushner). Mrs. Kushner contacted a University of Maryland Art Department Dean who worked to add an art program at that school. When Owens first ran for City Council in 1980, she said she had to be talked into it by the mayor. "I am not a politician," she would say, "I am an activist." After a successful campaign, Owens would go on to serve three terms from 1981 through 1987. During her Council tenure, she remembers a time of contention. Her biggest fight came with her opposition to a proposed garbage incinerator that would have been located near her District. After researching (even going as far as to speak to scientists in Belgium) and talking to other jurisdictions, she succesfully lobbied the Council to prevent the garbage incinerator citing potential and unknown health concerns.