Meet The Team

Paula Manion - Founder and Chair

Paula Manion is the Founder and Chair of City Center NOVA. She is our strong and passionate leader for this mission to create affordable, inclusive communities and meaningful lives for adults with disabilities. Paula’s belief is that the greatest barriers they face are not their disability–they are the barriers to housing, employment and meaningful social experiences! When not wearing her City Center NOVA ‘superhero’ outfit, she serves the community as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Mental Health Care Specialist with a special focus on advocacy and care of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and mental health issues.

Jacqui Winters, Founding Director, Strategic Planning

Jacqui Winters is a Principal at Deloitte Consulting. She and her husband, David have two sons – Henry and Luther. Henry was identified as autistic at the age of four, after he started preschool and it was noticed that his communication and social skills were less developed than the other children his age. Since that time, Ms. Winters has been active in school advocacy and supporting her kids to be included in classroom and extracurricular activities. Both of her boys are very active in theatre and music, including school musicals and a local rock band. Jacqui has been a management consultant since 2001, serving clients in the Government. Prior to her experience in consulting, Ms. Winters led non-profit management for a healthcare services provider in rural Northwest Colorado.At Deloitte, Jacqui leads Deloitte’s Change Strategy & Analytics practice where she helps leaders to systematically influence their organization to perform better and to achieve their goals. She has a B.A. in English from Lenoir-Rhyne College and an M.B.A. from the College of William and Mary.

Donna Budway - Director, Programming/Community Outreach

Donna Budway has served as a community organizer in Arlington for the past two decades. She is active in autism advocacy, food insecurity and homeless issues, LGBTQ teen supports, hospice and tutoring for at risk students. Donna and her husband Robert have three children, their youngest Emma, a non-speaking autistic, has recently moved into City Center NOVA’s first community, Gilliam Place in Arlington. Donna manages our programming and is instrumental in her outreach in sharing the mission and the importance of making community. Her passion is in developing and sustaining inclusive settings and ensuring the well being for adults of all abilities.

Bruce Finland - Director, Housing

Bruce Finland oversees the organization’s initiatives in the area of real estate development, with a focus on special needs housing. He is currently Managing Director of MED Developers LLC, a real estate development firm that develops and manages multi family properties in the area. Bruce and his wife Glen raised three sons in McLean, the youngest on the autism spectrum. Glen is the author of the book “Next Stop”, about the summer she spent teaching David how to navigate the Metro system and achieve some of his own independence.

Fredda Hurwitz - Director, Strategic Marketing

Fredda brings 25+ years of global brand strategy and marketing to CCN, having spent the better part of her life living and working in Europe before returning to the states 2.5 years ago to lead strategy & marketing for a US based brand engagement agency. As a mum to two rather awesome (human) children and one furry one, Fredda feels strongly that CCN found her at just the right time in her life vs the other way round. It’s simple really: her younger son is on the spectrum and down the line, may very well need the type of support and access that CCN provides. Who wouldn’t want to get involved with a cause that can help make a child’s life better?

Stephanie Cohen, Director, Web and Digital Strategy

Stephanie Cohen is a digital strategist with expertise in e-commerce, content creation and marketing. She worked for AOL for more than 13 years and then went on to work for several small companies overseeing their e-commerce site and marketing efforts. She helped City Center NOVA get their website and e-mail marketing launched, and is currently working on the 2.0 version of the website.

Maria Booker - Director, Fund Development

Maria Booker is an experienced non-profit strategist who specializes in increasing annual event revenues; connecting fund seekers to multi-year donor partnerships; building and enhancing grant portfolios and providing income oversight to fundraising relationships.

Tom Graham - CFO & Treasurer

Tom brings 25 years of finance experience working in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Tom manages our City Center NOVA’s financial and regulatory requirements. Tom and his wife Suzanne have two kids; Matt and Allie.

Joe Manion, Co-Founder and President

Joe Manion serves as the President of City Center NOVA after assisting Paula Manion in the corporation’s founding and transition into a corporation. As the father of Michael, an adult with autism, he is committed to finding permanent solutions to improve quality of life of individuals with a disability, and in particular seeks to gain public understanding on how disabilities are perceived. Joe works as a freelance writer after retiring from active duty in the US Air Force and then serving as a Senior Defense Contractor at the Pentagon. His previous experience includes military aviation, representing the USAF on major Defense acquisition programs, and interfacing with the militaries of other nations to further US national security objectives.

Kris McHarg - Secretary

Kris joined CC NOVA in the fall of 2019. WIth a career in healthcare spanning over 40 years has she served both the Navy and the community as a nurse and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She is a close friend and colleague of Paula Manion. Kris believes strongly in the mission of CC NOVA. She serves as secretary on the executive board and assists the team in research and development associated with programming for CC NOVA members. She is an outstanding team member, always willing to help out wherever needed.