Eva Cowen was the director of Special Needs Programs at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, in Rockville, Maryland, from 1993 to 2009. She coordinated, facilitated, and oversaw the inclusion of people with disabilities into all Center programs and activities including classes, sports leagues, summer camp, winter and spring camp programs, sports and fitness programs, lectures, concerts, festivals, and other activities. She has presented and been consulted nationally and internationally on best practices for inclusion. For 32 consecutive summers she has been on the leadership team of Camp JCC at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington in Rockville, Maryland. She has overseen the full inclusion of children with a complete range of disabilities and has also run the summer program for teens and young adults with multiple disabilities. Eva was a member of the Maryland State Developmental Disabilities Council for 10 years and has also served on the advisory committee for the Sunflower Bakery and currently sits on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes. She also serves on the Federation of Greater Washington’s Inclusion Committee. Currently Eva does consulting work for the Anti Defamation League, The Sunflower Bakery, Balancing Life’s Issues, Howard County Department of Recreation, Foundation for Jewish Camp, The Friendship Circle and other organizations. She has received several awards from parent advocacy groups, the JCC of Greater Washington, The Association of Jewish Center Professionals, the American Camp Association, and The Jewish Federation of Washington. Eva also has an older brother who has autism and she has always been very involved in ensuring that he lives a happy, fulfilled and productive life.