Julie Pham of Bellevue was selected as the recipient of the 2010 National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP)-Seattle Leadership Award Benefit to the Executive Development Institute (EDI). The award benefit covers the $3500 tuition for Pham to attend the EDI Asian Pacific Leadership Discovery Program, an eight-month, culturally-tailored leadership program.
Pham is the managing editor of Northwest Vietnamese News (Nguoi Viet Tay Bac), a Seattle-based, semi-weekly, Vietnamese-language newspaper. Prior to her current position, Pham earned a Ph.D. in History and performed a fellowship in Vietnam. She left academia to utilize her entrepreneurial spirit in ways which promote multicultural communication. In addition to her journalistic work, she also serves as chair of the Martin Luther King (MLK) Business Association, board member of Seattle Symphony’s Celebrate Asia! project, and advisory board member for the Vietnamese Friendship Association’s Community Action Research and Empowerment Group (CARE) project.
“Ms. Pham was chosen because the selection committee was impressed by her entrepreneurial drive, her commitment to multicultural communication and diversity, and her leadership vision in forming associations with others in the community,” said Lisa Nguyen, NAAAP-Seattle Scholarship Chair. “We felt Ms. Pham would benefit a great deal from the EDI Leadership Discovery Program and be able to immediately apply the newly gained leadership skills to her wide range of community service and social causes.”
Pham will represent NAAAP-Seattle in the EDI 2010 Asian Pacific Leadership Discovery Program. She recently became a NAAAP-Seattle board member and will serve as its 2010-2011 Public Relations/Marketing Chair.
“I am grateful to NAAAP-Seattle, The Prudential Insurance Company of America, and EDI for providing me the award benefit to attend EDI,” said Pham. “Without it, I would not have been able to take advantage of an invaluable opportunity to build my leadership skills and to enlarge my network of peers and mentors here in the Pacific Northwest through EDI.”
NAAAP-Seattle collaborates every year with associates The Prudential Insurance Company of America and EDI to offer an opportunity for a member to develop his/her leadership skills. Criteria for selection include demonstrated leadership skills, service to the Asian American community, entrepreneurialism, and potential for further growth through participation in this program. In addition, benefit recipients are required to put their leadership training into action by serving as a NAAAP-Seattle board member.
