Freddie Mac Leads Effort To Form a BDPA Chapter

BDPA Founder Earl Pace explains the history and need for BDPA during a reception hosted by Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac recently hosted a reception for chief information officers and diversity leaders from around the Washington, DC region to build support for starting a Northern Virginia chapter of the Black Data Processors Association (BDPA), a global organization with 54 chapters that serves as a catalyst for professional growth and technical development for those in the IT industry.

"I have tremendous respect for BDPA. That's why I am pleased by our IT community's enthusiastic support for starting a Northern Virginia BDPA chapter. BDPA's expertise and resources will greatly benefit Freddie Mac, our employees, and all local companies as we strive to build skilled, diverse IT teams," Joe Smialowski, executive vice president and CIO, Operations & Technology, Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac CIO Joe Smialowski (l) and Freddie Mac Manager Gary Simms (r) discuss the need for a Northern Virginia BDPA chapter with Gannett CIO Mark Morneau at a reception hosted by Freddie Mac to build support for a chapter.

Freddie Mac identified the need for a Northern Virginia BDPA chapter as a key strategy for developing talent and encouraging further diversity within its own technology department. BDPA is well known for helping African-Americans advance their careers in the IT profession through education, mentoring, services and business networking. To jumpstart the process, Freddie Mac recently formed an exploratory committee and reached out to a number of other local companies. Interest has been great and the reception was a pivotal step in spurring more. The plan now is to start a local chapter by yearend.

Those interested in learning more about the upcoming chapter should contact Gary Simms at gary_simms@freddiemac.com.