EDI Hosts 17th Annual Graduation Gala

EDI Graduation on YouTube - Click on arrow below to get a glimpse of the Leadership Navigation Program!


BELLEVUE, Wash., November 10, 2010 – The Executive Development Institute (EDI) hosted its 17th annual graduation gala with close to 300 sponsors, mentors, friends and family in attendance at the Hilton Bellevue last week. EDI also hosted its third annual graduation for its Greater Portland graduates last week in Portland. Altogether 54 graduates were honored this year for completing EDI's culturally tailored leadership programs.
The 2010 EDI graduates include talented professionals at organizations including Microsoft Corporation, The Boeing Company, Weyerhaeuser Company, Nike, Puget Sound Energy, State Farm Insurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KeyBank, Rainier Scholars, Symetra Financial, Element3, International Students Inc., NW Natural, Emeritus Senior Living and NW Vietnamese News.
Keynote speaker, Yau-Man Chan, CBS Survivor Contestant and Chief Technology Officer, College of Chemistry, University of California-Berkeley shared his experiences as Survivor contestant in Survivor Fiji in 2007 and Survivor Micronesia in 2008. Sandra Madrid, PhD, Senior Advisor to the Dean, University of Washington School of Law emceed the graduation event.
Graduates shared their teambuilding and leadership experiences serving on community projects with non-profit organizations including Chinese Information and Service Center, Neighborhood House, Oregon Nikkei Endowment, Operation Nightwatch, Page Ahead Children's Literacy Program, Rainier Scholars, and Seattle Police Foundation.
EDI provides culturally tailored leadership programs that position Asian-Americans and Hispanics on a fast track for successful executive service and other leadership positions. They are unique programs, providing cutting-edge leadership training that focuses on practical, real-world problem solving in a multi-cultural context.
Since its inception in 1994, EDI has graduated more than 550 multi-ethnic professionals from its Leadership Discovery program. Major community and business sponsors for EDI include Microsoft, KeyBank, Boeing, Prudential, Nordstrom, Puget Sound Energy, Weyerhaeuser, State Farm Insurance, and Wells Fargo.