Deb Dupnik

Executive Director

Deb Dupnik was selected to serve as NOVA’s executive director beginning January 1, 2020. Deb has over 11 years of experience in association management, is a Certified Association Executive, and is certified by the Customer Service Institute of America.  She has a very personal level of experience with the VA Health Care System. Her father, a WWII Veteran and purple heart recipient, was admitted in 1990 to the VA Boston Healthcare System, known as the West Roxbury VA at that time. He had a service-connected condition that resulted in a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down. For the next 11 years, Dupnik and her family spent many hours in and out of this hospital and saw firsthand the remarkable work that VA  nurses do everyday to provide care for our nation’s Veterans. She and her husband reside in New Jersey and are the proud parents of two adult daughters, one is a Biomedical Engineer and the other an Architect.

Gene Terry

Chief Relations Officer

Gene Terry serves as the Relationship Officer of NOVA. He has over 20 years’ experience in communications, strategic planning, governance, and operations. Gene’s career spans industries, including national charitable organizations, a university hospital system, and a healthcare public relations agency. 

Currently, Gene serves as the Executive Director for the American Society of Hand Therapists, a professional organization of occupational and physical therapists who specialize in upper extremity rehabilitation. He also serves as Segment Leader for Association Headquarters’ Allied Health, Medical and Scientific business unit. In this role, Gene oversees client service delivery, and focuses on identifying tools and processes that support growth initiatives. 

Gene is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), holds ASAE’s Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential, serves on the board of directors for the Mid-Atlantic Society of Association Executives, and serves on the national board of trustees for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. 

Away from the office, Gene moonlights as a saxophonist in a community concert band and watches an unhealthy amount of British murder mysteries.

Ashley Lovelace 

Membership Coordinator

Ashley is a New Jersey native and Howard University graduate with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism that recently joined the NOVA team in January of 2020 as the Membership Coordinator. Ashley has over 10 years of customer service experience working with companies that varied from Walt Disney Company and managed top retailers such as Nordstrom and H&M. Ashley’s love of people drives her to make sure that the members of NOVA are always the top priority. Since joining the NOVA team, Ashley has helped orchestrate membership campaigns and assists with helping to  make NOVA’s continuing education webinars and information for all NOVA members. Working with NOVA has a personal connection for Ashley, as her grandmother received  VA nursing  care until her passing this past June. Ashley is overjoyed and honored that she is a part of helping the caregivers of our nation's Veterans make a difference. She cannot wait to follow NOVA's  growth  in the future and is ecstatic to help in every way possible! 

Natascha Williams

Meetings Manager

Natasha Williams serves as NOVA’s meeting manager. She has extensive experience developing, planning and overall operational execution of meetings, conferences, and large-scaled corporate events. Natascha is responsible for working with the Annual Meeting Committee to select the theme and develop an innovative program to address educational and networking needs of NOVA membership and is the main contact for the speakers and sponsors. She works with NOVA staff to promote and market the Annual Meeting among members and non-members. Natascha also plans and organizes NOVA’s Hill Day and Round Table events. She and her husband live in New Jersey and are the proud parents of four daughters who are elite athletes, actively involved in track. In her spare time, Natascha has served as a Tri-State Elite track club head coach.

Genesis Guevarra

Meetings Coordinator

Genesis Guevarra recently joined the NOVA team in March of 2020. With over 5 years of experience in event planning, she focuses on assisting with the Annual Meeting Logistics for NOVA. Juggling more than one association at Association Headquarters helped her build a comprehensive background that allowed her to develop, promote and execute a successful event experience. She helped execute several meetings in major cities like Miami, Philadelphia, Chicago, Orlando and Fort Worth. In addition to her experiences in meeting planning, she also has a background in Marketing. Genesis also helps people plan and coordinate dream weddings on the side. She earned a degree in Business Administration with a dual concentration in International Business and Marketing. As part of the team, Genesis helped with NOVA’s first virtual meeting and is looking forward to creating a refreshing experience in the coming years. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and her 4-year-old daughter. 

Teresa Morris

Director of Advocacy & Government Relations

Teresa Morris spent over 25 years advocating for Veterans on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW). She began her career working at the VFW Political Action Committee and quickly moved to the Legislative Office where she wrote testimony and policy papers on various Veteran and Military issues. In 2004, she became the Grassroots Manager where she was charged with educating the VFW membership on how to advocate for critical Veterans issues. Teresa was responsible for managing their grassroots lobbying network of over 300,000 members. She has extensive knowledge of VA healthcare and benefits policy.

Teresa retired from the VFW in 2014 and joined the staff of Dove Associates, LLC where she served as Director of Advocacy & Government Relations for the Nurses Organization of Veterans Affairs. She has worked as the Advocacy and Government Relations Director to NOVA for 6 years, guiding them through legislative policy and advocacy with respect to all things VA.

Teresa holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Political Science from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.