New BDPA Chapter to Be Housed at Freddie Mac, First Meeting Dec. 7 MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA) recently launched an official Northern Virginia chapter to help provide greater professional opportunities for information technology (IT) professionals throughout the Northern Virginia corridor. As the founding sponsor, Freddie Mac will house the new local chapter at its McLean, Va., headquarters, and will host the chapter's first meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 7. Preceding the meeting, there will be a mini job fair for IT professionals from 4 - 6:30 p.m. "Northern Virginia is tech central, and we are delighted that BDPA has a home in this technology corridor. With the support of companies like Freddie Mac, AOL, Gannett and InScope Solutions, a diverse range of IT professionals throughout Northern Virginia now will be able to tap into new resources and networking opportunities to help advance their careers. In addition, this chapter will help companies grow their talent pool," said National BDPA President Wayne Hicks. The BDPA is a global organization with 54 chapters focused on the advancement and technical development of IT professionals. The new BDPA chapter will help minorities throughout the Northern Virginia area advance their careers in the IT profession through education, mentoring, and business networking. The new chapter will also mentor area high school and college students interested in technology careers. This past summer, Freddie Mac formed an exploratory committee that worked with local IT companies to help build support for starting a Northern Virginia BDPA chapter. AOL, Gannett and InScope Solutions have also teamed up with Freddie Mac to help organize the new Northern Virginia Chapter. The new local BDPA chapter board members are: President, Dwight Handon, senior director at Freddie Mac; Vice President Elect, Mike Bruce, president and CEO, InScope Solutions; Vice President of Finance, Scott Price, executive director, Virginia High-Tech Partnership; Vice President Membership Management, Ron Stowe, senior manager, Freddie Mac; Vice President Member Services, Craig Robles, senior manager, Freddie Mac; and Vice President Strategy Planning, Gary Simms, senior manager, Freddie Mac. For those interested in learning more about the new Northern Virginia BDPA chapter or to join, please visit http://www.bdpanova.org/. Founded in 1975 by Earl Pace and the late David Wimberly, BDPA is a global member focused organization that serves the professional well-being of its stakeholders. BDPA remains committed to excellence in delivering expertise by providing a wide spectrum of resources to its members, corporate sponsors, businesses, educational institutions and the community. The organization is a catalyst for professional growth and technical development for those in the IT industry. With 54 chapters across the United States, BDPA is the premier organization for African Americans in technology. The BDPA national headquarters is located in Greenbelt, Maryland. For more information about BDPA, call 1-800-727-BDPA or visit http://www.bdpa.org/. DATASOURCE: Black Data Processing Associates CONTACT: Jennifer Meyer of Freddie Mac, +1-703-903-3877 Web site: http://www.bdpa.org/ http://www.bdpanova.org/

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