Vol. 3, Issue 12
February 2015 Newsletter
"You are not your resume, you are your work." - Seth Godin
EDI Announces New Executive Director
   
     Due to health concerns, Alan Sugiyama has decided to step down as EDI's Executive Director. Some people say the role of Executive Director was especially designed for Al, who has shown a great dedication to his community over the past 40 years. Though Al's last day is February 28th, he will remain with EDI as the Executive Director-Emeritus in mentoring and helping EDI's new Executive Director. As of March, EDI's current Director of Programs & Events, Marci Nakano, will become the new Executive Director. *See full press release for more details.

Message from EDI's Board of Directors:

"As I write this, it is with mixed emotions. EDI has made tremendous strides in our communities these past two years under Al's leadership, commitment, and simply, through his outgoing personality! On behalf of the Board of Directors, we will miss him on a full-time basis but understandably his focus and energy need to be on his health and in making a full recovery. We are grateful that Al has agreed to be our Executive Director-Emeritus, and in remaining connected with EDI, he will assist us when he can. On the other hand, we are extremely pleased that Marci, as a Leadership Discovery graduate, has agreed to become our new Executive Director. She has been with EDI for nine years and under Al's tutelage, is ready to lead our organization forward. Please join me in thanking Al for all of his contributions to EDI and those still to come, along with congratulating Marci on her next adventure."

 

Mae Numata

1994 EDI Graduate and Co-Chair, Board of Directors

Table of Contents
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EDI would love to hear from you!
Submit any pictures, stories, and/or promotions to EDI, and you could be featured in next month's March newsletter. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Vivian at vivian@ediorg.org.

Recruitment
Recruitment     At 85% of EDI's goal for participants for the 2015 Discovery and Navigation programs, this is the last push for help. We appreciate everyone who's helped EDI so far. Thank you so much! But there is still time for people who might be interested in joining EDI's Discovery or Navigation programs. Please forward this newsletter to anyone you might know, and show them how much you love EDI. WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS until a few days before the Kick-Off dates for each program. For more information, please contact EDI at edi@ediorg.org.
Kick-Off Dates
Navigation - March 4-6th
Puget Sound Discovery - March 16-17th 
Portland Discovery - March 19-20th



Al's Corner
Al
Above: EDI's Executive Director, Alan Sugiyama, gives his acceptance speech at the OCA Golden Circle Awards Banquet on Saturday, February 7th.

I guess all wonderful things must come to an end! Due to health reasons, I will be leaving my position at EDI as Executive Director, effective February 28th. However, I will remain connected to EDI as 'the Executive Director Emeritus.' In my new role, I will mentor our new Executive Director and current Director of Programs & Events, MARCI NAKANO. At the same time, I will also continue to represent EDI at special events in the community. I want to personally thank all the board members who hired me a little over two years ago. I knew I would like the job, but...

 

READ MORE


Alumni on the Move

Alumni     Bao Nguyen, Discovery Class of 2013, has recently been promoted to Supply Chain Specialist at The Boeing Company. Prior to his promotion, Bao spent the last 10 years in Forward Logistics, three of which were with Boeing. His new role will expose him to challenges within realm of Reverse Logistics and complete his aspirations in global supply chain management. Bao holds a B.A. in Management and aims to graduate with his Masters in Global Supply Chain Management by June of 2015. He enjoys learning and understand the value of an education. What has been notable,  as Bao point out, was the education he obtained through EDI. "I strongly believe that education is valuable, especially what we learned through EDI. Not only did I obtain the practical skills that helped me become successful in my career, I was also able to expand my understanding and contextual lens which fostered a lot of personal development. I have grown both intellectually and professional after graduating from EDI and I know my friends from the same graduating class have as well. I love hearing about their success stories when we reconnect."


 

Who is Ed Min?
Ed     Recently, a fellow by the name of Ed Min has been friending EDI alumni on the very creepy social media site, Facebook. But never fear, Ed Min doesn't exist!

With plans in 2015 to highlight, reach out to more past participants, and organize future classes, EDI needed a way to tag pictures and deliver news toward specific individuals. As a Facebook page, EDI was unable to do any of these actions. Thus, the idea of Ed Min was born.

Ed Min's name derives from a play on words. Unable to use "EDI Admin" as the first and last name of the account when signing up for Facebook, EDI decided to shorten it to "Ed Min." Creative, huh? So if anyone is still wary to accept Ed Min's friend requests, don't be! For those who want to add Ed Min, feel free to send a request. 


Fun fact: Ed Min's birthday is hardly coincidental. EDI was founded in 1994 by Vanna Novak and the late Ted Yamamura, which also happened to be the year EDI's Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Vivian, was born.

Save the Date
Save


Inclusion Fusion: Thursday,September 17, 2015 at The Foundry in Seattle


Puget Sound Graduation: Thursday, November 5, 2015; Location TBD


Portland Graduation: Thursday, November 12, 2015; Location TBD



Jobs & Volunteer Opportunities
Jobs      Calling all alumni! Have you ever wanted to work for EDI and give back? Well, now's your chance. EDI is looking to hire a full-time Events ManagerUnder the supervision of the Executive Director, the Events Manager will contribute to the overall success of the agency by being involved in and performing a variety of functions. This position will be responsible for planning and managing all of the agency's major events.This position will also assist with the logistics for the agency's annual Leadership programs and manage daily office functions. This is an exciting opportunity for past EDI alumni to work behind-the-scenes and see how the program runs! For more information, please contact Marci at marci@ediorg.org or Vivian at vivian@ediorg.org.



DATE POSTED
TITLE
COMPANY
February 4thCOMMUNICATIONS MANAGERACRS
February 4th
ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVEYMCA
February 4thMETROCENTER EXECUTIVEYMCA
January 16th
PRESIDENT & CEOThe Greater Tacoma Community Foundation


The Philippine Embassy
is currently looking for delegates for the annual Filipino American Youth Leadership Program (FYLPro). Launched in 2012 by Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., FYLPro seeks to encourage youth to actively engage in their own communities and promote Philippines development.The deadline for submission is March 30, 2015. If selected, participants will be notified by email and the list of names will be posted online on April 30th.




The Puget Sound Educational Service District is one of nine regional educational support agencies across the state, serving school districts and the larger educational community through a variety of programs and services from early learning through post-secondary readiness. Governed by a nine member board representing the school districts of King and Pierce Counties and Bainbridge Island, the Puget Sound ESD currently has an opening for Director District Four, which includes the school districts of Northshore, Lake Washington, Riverview and Skykomish. The current board will fill this seat by appointing a new member, who will then serve until this seat is up for election. Application screening will take place in late February, and interviews will be conducted for those selected the first week of March. If interested, please submit applications and resumes to the Puget Sound ESD by February 20th. For more information, contact the Office of the Puget Sound ESD Superintendent at (425) 917-7602 or jwelch@psesd.org.


 


 



 



 

On February 25th, Portland is hosting their Second Annual Women of Color Empowerment Conference from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM at Metro. This a great opportunity for everyone, especially women to meet some of Portland's exemplary women leaders who unite innovation and commitment to serve the common good. For more information, click the button below.


 


 


 

CLICK HERE


OCA Golden Circle Awards Dinner
OCA 
Left to Right: EDI's Executive Director, Alan Sugiyama, poses for a picture with Assunta Ng, Northwest Asian Weekly's Publisher at the OCA Golden Circle Awards Dinner. (photo credit: International Examiner)
Over 200 people attended the OCA Golden Circle Awards Banquet on Saturday, February 7th. As one of the many honorees, EDI's Executive Director, Alan Sugiyama, delivered a great acceptance speech with a partial agenda on promoting EDI and our programs. For a gallery of EDI's pictures and a snippet of Al's speech, click below!