Paola Fernandez '23

Senior Vice President, Community Development Officer
Centreville Bank

Award Profile

Courageous Thinking and Action

Paola’s determination to help others has always steered her into distinct roles throughout her career. Inspired by her own experiences as an immigrant, she’s has made it her purpose to help transform lives by working in spaces that help lift communities and increase access and opportunities for families and individuals to prosper. Early on in her career Paola found that she had a knack for building consensus and strong community engagement skills. When her supervisor noticed this, she was encouraged to explore a position in advocacy and public policy. Taking a stand and advocating against unfair economic practices that held people back motivated her to be a voice to influence and affect change by utilizing advocacy and community partnerships focused on social systems. In this role she was able to help increase affordable housing opportunities, create afterschool programming for underserved children, and motivate elected leaders to address social issues at the local and state level.

Vision and Innovation

Paola joined Centreville Bank at an important time in the bank’s ongoing evolution. With a bold plan to expand across the state and region, as well as a new bank President and CEO, Paola brought expertise to help the organization navigate changes while also fostering an environment that engages employees in the foundational work of developing the culture. With a vision laser-focused on community first, she was able to unite employees and reinforce the vision that as community bank, giving back in all forms is vital. Paola can successfully engage employees, customers and community organizations at all levels and develop the definitive statement that our shared goal as an organization is “To empower our customers to achieve financial success.”

Inspiring Leadership
Paola is an active volunteer on various community boards and deeply believes in helping others advance in their careers. Her most proud and notable leadership commitments is as a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, a Leadership Certificate Program from Tufts University. As a faculty member, Paola mentors and advises rising community leaders helping to navigate complex systems and effect positive change. Her goal is to equip students with the skills, confidence resources and network to play a leadership role in helping advance their organization’s mission and goals.

Paola is extremely responsive and approachable. She empowers employees and is a constant voice of encouragement and support offering thoughts, ideas and suggestions that always help sustain momentum and focus on our organizational objectives. She demonstrates appreciation of each person’s contribution to the team and fosters open and respectful discussion of diverse perspectives, ideas, and thoughts, all while maintaining a great sense of humor.

Community Mindedness
I became involved with Junior Achievement as part of my role at Centreville Bank. As a financial institution focused on financial empowerment, we are committed to supporting organizations that provide education and resources for young people to make informed decisions. Working with JA has made me reflect about my own experiences with money. As an English Language Learner, I did not have the opportunity to experience Junior Achievement – I didn’t know JA existed until later and through others who had been part of it.

The most memorable experience with JA was when I volunteered in a fifth-grade class which had a large group of English Language Learners. I immediately connected with the students as I immigrated from Argentina in fifth grade. Walking into that classroom was like walking back into one of the most significant moments in my life. Incredibly scared of a new country, culture, and the challenges of not speaking the language made the school age years incredibly challenging. The teacher identified the ELL students, and I told them I would share this information in Spanish. The wide-opened eyes and smiles when I said my name, which not everyone can pronounce, and the immediate connection we made was emotional. I sensed they were hanging on to my every word and easily laughed at my jokes. I remember when I was in my first class I this country and the teacher and students laughed, I didn’t understand the jokes. I imagined they rarely had these moments where they felt seen, and I knew exactly what they were feeling. During our career conversation I asked the students what they think is a cool job they see themselves doing. One of the students shouted, “A bank woman like you.” I am honored to volunteer with JA because the opportunity to engage with students and explore their curiosity is rewarding. Exposing them to career opportunities and important financial tools and information so they can be prepared for their future is a responsibility I excitedly and proudly accept.