Rhonda Schaffler, New York Stock Exchange Senior Correspondent for CNNfn and CNN Business News, will discuss "The Economic Outlook for Information Technology" at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's (UMBC) "Visionaries in Information Technology (IT)" breakfast forum on April 16th. The breakfast forum will be held from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel. Admission to the event is free and a continental breakfast is included.

"With world events making today's market even tougher to predict, we're excited to bring some valuable, timely advice from a nationally known expert like CNN's Rhonda Schaffler to the greater Baltimore region's IT community," said Greg Simmons, Associate Director of Corporate Relations at UMBC. "Rhonda has her thumb on the market's pulse every day and I'm sure that she will have some savvy insights to offer IT investors and professionals from across the Baltimore/Washington area."

Schaffler is the New York Stock Exchange senior correspondent for CNNfn and CNN Business News, the division of the CNN News Group that produces business news and updates for CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN Headline News, CNN Airport Network, CNNRadio and the Web site CNNfn.com. Schaffler is also the anchor of Market Call, which offers an insightful look at the markets and business news during the first half of the trading day. Schaffler provides viewers with an understanding of early market trading and a well-connected perspective on activity that may lie ahead in the business day.

Schaffler joined CNN Business News as a field producer in 1995 and was promoted to correspondent in November 1996. Prior to joining CNN, Schaffler served as a reporter and writer covering business and general news for WPHL-TV's Inquirer News Tonight in Philadelphia.

The Visionaries in IT Forum series offers a twist on traditional networking by directly connecting representatives from regional financial and IT companies with UMBC students and faculty in their fields. For more information and to register, please visit: http://techport.umbc.edu/partners/visionary.asp

The UMBC Visionaries in Information Technology Forum breakfast series was established in 2000 to help elevate the prominence and recognition of Maryland as a central hub of information and emerging technologies. Over the past three years, the forum has drawn over 2,600 IT professionals, research scientists, UMBC faculty and students. Proceeds from sponsorship support IT-related majors at UMBC.