For Immediate Release
Date:  May 11, 2007

IIa Communication Pro Earns International Accreditation

Oak Ridge, TN.–Susanne Dupes, corporate communication director for Information International Associates in Oak Ridge, has earned the Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) designation from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).IABC is a global network of communication professionals committed to improving organizational effectiveness through strategic communication. Currently only 757 of IABC’s 14,000 members from 70 countries are accredited. Dupes is one of three professional communicators in Tennessee to hold the designation.

According to IABC, the accreditation process Dupes underwent measures the strategic abilities and technical skills of a communicator. The process consists of rigorous evaluation through a review of the candidate’s portfolio of work, and written and oral examinations. To earn the accreditation, Dupes had to demonstrate an understanding of the goals and philosophy of organizational communication; discuss the role of the communicator and communication in modern organizations; present what communication can and cannot do; and display the knowledge to plan, direct, implement, and evaluate a broad range of communication programs applying that knowledge to practical, real-life situations.

According to Eric Bergman, ABC, APR, MC, chair of the IABC accreditation council, “This is the highest professional honor awarded by the International Association of Business Communicators.”

Dupes has more than 25 years of experience as a communications professional in the East Tennessee area. At IIa, she is responsible for the company’s internal and external communications, including corporate branding. Before joining IIa’s corporate staff in 2001, Dupes was a senior writer providing international communications and publications program support for Department of Energy contractors. Dupes earned her bachelor’s degree in English and journalism from Tennessee Technological University in 1978 and her master’s in information science from the University of Tennessee in 2004. She recently completed the Leadership Oak Ridge program, is active in the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and is a board member of the Epilepsy Foundation of America. She and her husband, Bill, a senior editor for the Amputee Coalition of America, live in West Knoxville with their daughter, Rynn, a freshman at the University of Tennessee.

Headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, IIa provides information management, systems, and technology services to government, industry, non-profit and academic organizations, and international entities. IIa is a woman-owned, small business with 200 employees in 10 states, the District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom. More information about IIa can be found at www.iiaweb.com.