The Group of Dominican Professionals in Washington, DC (“GDP-WASH”) is a Washington, DC non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code.  Founded in 1996 to bring together Dominican professionals in the Washington Metropolitan Area, one of GDP-WASH’s objectives is to contribute to the economic, social, and cultural development of the Dominican Republic and its people, including Dominicans on the island, in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in the United States in general.  GDP-WASH pursues its mission through activities that promote the dialogue and analysis of issues important for the development of the Dominican Republic and Dominicans in the United States, enhance social development of Dominicans, and support the dissemination of Dominican art and culture in the U.S.  

Over the last few years, GDP-WASH has held several events for the fulfillment of its mission, such as art exhibits at the National Press Club, the Organization of American States, the World Bank, and the Residence of the Dominican Embassy in the U.S.; scholarly panels at Georgetown University, Capitol Hill, and the Inter-American Development Bank.  It has also co-sponsored the Dominican Internship Program (“DIP”), which has successfully graduated many students over the past several years from prominent schools such as Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, and Wellesley, among others.  These college students, mainly from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds within the US, had the opportunity to work in key domestic and international institutions in the DC area.  GDP-WASH has also contributed large donations of food, medicines and money to a variety of humanitarian causes in the Dominican Republic.  For example, in 2004 it organized a fundraiser that benefitted the Children’s Hospital Robert Reid Cabral in the Dominican Republic; it has sent donations to the Dominican Republic when natural disasters have ravaged the island; and more recently, it organized a fundraiser to benefit the children who attend the arts classes imparted at the Plaza de la Cultura in Bonao, Dominican Republic.