WASHINGTON, June 15, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On June 12th, the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GWHCC), the leading Hispanic chamber of commerce in the Washington metropolitan region, celebrated its 39th Annual Gala at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, attended by more than 500 leaders of local and federal government, nonprofits, corporations and regional business community. This year GWHCC recognized three Hispanic leaders in technology: Lynette Spano, CEO of SCI Consulting, Thomas Sanchez, Founder and CEO of Social Driver and Ernest Cordova, Chief Security Officer at Accenture Federal Services.
"The GWHCC works every day to help move Hispanic businesses forward and build sectors that play an essential role within the Hispanic business community," said Mario Acosta-Velez, outgoing GWHCC Board Chair. "During the gala's ceremony, we honored three outstanding Hispanic leaders whose work in the technology industry serves as an inspiration for our current members, our community, and the next generation of Hispanic professionals."
During the event, the GWHCC welcomed its new Board Chairman, Alfredo Casta, President and CEO of Cascades Technologies and one of Inc. 500 magazine's fastest growing companies. "On behalf of the GWHCC board and staff we would like to express our gratitude to Mario for his outstanding leadership the last three years," said Angela Franco, GWHCC President and CEO. "We are very excited to welcome Alfredo as Chairman whose extensive entrepreneurial background will greatly influence the Chamber's strategic plan for the next five years."
"I've been a part of the Board for the last five years and like many of our members, we have witnessed the transformation this Chamber has made in supporting its members grow their businesses", said Alfredo Casta, incoming Board Chairman and CEO of Cascades Technologies, inc. "I look forward to working with Angela, the staff, and the Board in mapping out our futures goals for the next five years."
Several regional leaders attended the event including: Franklin Garcia, US Representative for the District of Columbia (shadow); Karl Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia; Councilmember At-large Vincent Orange; Councilmember from Ward 4, Brandon Todd; Ana Harvey, Director of the District of Columbia's Department of Small and Local Business Development; Roger Campos, Business Ombudsman, Office of the Governor of Maryland; Steven McAdams, Executive Director of Maryland Governor's Office of Community Initiatives; James Coleman, President and CEO of the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation; Ana Sol Gutierrez, Maryland State Delegate, District 18 Montgomery County; Mayor Rocio Tremino-Lopez, Mayor of Brentwood, MD; Andre Arbelaez, President of the Hispanic IT Council; Jim Dinegar, President and CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade; and Lisa Mallory, President and CEO of the DC Building Industry Association.
This year's keynote speaker was Rosa Ramos-Kwok, Global Wholesale Banking Chief Technology Officer at Bank of America, and named one of the top 100 most influential and notable Latinas in the IT Industry by the Hispanic IT Executive Council (HITEC).
GWHCC's 39th Gala was made possible by the support of the following sponsors: Platinum Sponsors – Verizon, Telemundo Washington; Gold Sponsor –– DC Health Link, Events DC; Silver – Toyota, Bank of America, Cascades Technologies, WAMU; Bronze Sponsors – AARP, M&T Bank, PNC Bank, Carefirst, Eagle Bank, Arlington Economic Development, Building Hope, SunTrust, Giant, Childrens National Medical Center, Respira Medical, Winmar Construction, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, Keystone Construction, Employee Benefits Group, SCI Consulting, Dixon Hughes Goodman, Accenture; Sign Sponsor - Gelberg Signs; Coffee & Dessert – Mayorga Coffee; Media Sponsor - Bisnow
About the GWHCC
GWHCC is a membership-driven organization that supports the economic development of the Washington metropolitan area by facilitating the success of Hispanic and other minority-owned businesses through networking, advocacy and education. The Chamber was founded in 1976 and is a 501(C) 6 organization. For additional information visit our website www.gwhcc.org.