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.

The 2010 EDI graduates include professionals at organizations including Microsoft, The Boeing Company, Weyerhaeuser, 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, Ph.D., 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. Since its inception in 1994, EDI has graduated more than 550 multi-ethnic professionals from its Leadership Discovery program.