February 4, 2010 – The National Association of Asian American Professionals and four other leading national minority professional groups met today with Leon Panetta, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA extended the opportunity to work together to recruit a more diverse pool of America’s talented and qualified candidates into the agency. The CIA is looking to develop a long-term relationship with the respective organizations. Leaders from the various Asian, Latino, African American and Indian American groups were invited to CIA Headquarters. Over several hours, they met with heads of various departments to get a better sense of how the CIA fulfills its mission and began talking about how the Agency and the five minority professional groups can provide mutual benefit and added value for one another. The CIA has been a sponsor of NAAAP in the past and Director Panetta wanted to make diversity and inclusion a major priority for the agency.

“More agencies like CIA are reaching out to NAAAP because diversity in hiring, development, and leadership are mission-critical,” said Brad Baldia, NAAAP National President. Mr. Baldia is Director of the Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative and serves on many advisory boards in Philadelphia and nationally.

NAAAP is accustomed to assisting with diversity outreach strategies for Federal agencies and private sector companies. US Navy, US Department of Defense, US Department of Agriculture, and half a dozen other Federal agencies have posted positions in NAAAP’s Career Center and/or sponsored NAAAP’s annual Convention.

ABOUT NAAAP: The National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership-based organization and is the largest and fastest growing Asian professional association with representation in more than 25 cities across the United States and Canada. Its vision is "We Make Leaders!" For more information about the NAAAP, go to www.naaap.org.