Diverse|City

The Executive Development Institute (EDI), held a gala dinner honoring 62 graduates with more than 250 sponsors, mentors, friends and family in attendance at the Hilton Bellevue, last Thursday. The EDI graduates represented emerging leaders and managers from leading Pacific Northwest companies.

This year’s EDI graduates are professionals representing Microsoft Corporation, The Boeing Company, REI, Wells Fargo Bank, Nike, Liberty Mutual, State Farm Insurance, Puget Sound Energy, Ernst & Young, Symetra Financial, Bonneville Power Administration, Schnitzer Investment Corp, KeyBank, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, Mercer, NW Natural, Uwajimaya, and Weyerhaeuser Company.

Karen Narasaki, president and executive director of the Asian American Justice Center, gave the keynote address. She pointed out that customers, employees, donors, volunteers, partners are all changing, along with shifting demographics not only in the U.S. but globally as well.

Narasaki stressed the importance of diversity in an institution, and having it be a central component of strategic planning.

“If your employees and management teams aren’t able to work across cultures and languages, your institution will reach a point, in the not too distant future, where you will not be able to grow, to compete, to maximize your profits or serve your mission,” she said.

Steve Shinoda, Director of Information Technology at Uwajimaya who graduated from the the EDI Leadership Navigation Program for senior managers agrees. He said his experience with the program has been enriching both professionally and personally.

“I believe anyone interested in seeking an edge in life should consider [it] a must-do item,” Shinoda said. “I found the experience to be exhilarating, fun, with the right balance of risk taking and challenge within an environment that allows each of us to be authentic.”

EDI is the only Pacific Northwest nonprofit organization focusing on leadership training for multiethnic professionals.  For the past 18 years, EDI has collaborated with 50 Northwest corporations to provide business-relevant, culturally-tailored leadership training for Asian and Hispanic participants. More than 600 professionals in various fields have graduated from EDI.