Relating her experiences as an “integrated leader”, Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl addressed the 2011 class of Leadership Eastside’s (LE) community leader development program April 9 At Lake Washington Technical College.

She spoke to the crowd of current and future Eastside leaders on how she achieved the right balance to lead one of the region’s largest public agencies and bureaucracies.

“Don’t ask your employees for info unless you want to do something about it,” she said.

Starting as a young Bremerton administrator in the Treasurer’s office, Earl worked her way up but never forgot the important lessons she learned there: communicating clearly, understanding everyone’s role and dedicating yourself to your passion.

Leading Sound Transit and an 18-member board made up of politicians also requires some negotiating savvy and people skills.

In Kirkland’s case, Earl acknowledged Mayor Jim Lauinger standing in the back of the room, urging him and the city to “hang with” Sound Transit as it tries to steer more transit service here under voter-approved bonds through the ST2 bond-measure.

“We cannot assume the public trusts us now,” she said. “We’ve been given another opportunity.”

The multi-billion dollar bus and light-rail project is planned to expand both on the Eastside and has come to eclipse Earl’s other achievements there. In addition to boosting bus service across the region, plans also call for a light-rail connection between Seattle and Bellevue and extensions to the north-south route to Federal Way and Lynnwood.

“This is an improvement for all 54 cities in the three county region,” she said. “It’s a legacy to be left for your children and grandchildren.”

LE’s class members live and work in Eastside communities, they come from private, public and non-profit sectors and they all share a desire to use their leadership experience to help improve the quality of life for the Eastside region. Class members dedicate a full day each month from September through May by focusing on six community leader capabilities including sustaining stewardship, thinking holistically, valuing dialogue, envisioning possibilities, influencing outcomes, and building community with emphasis on becoming a catalyst for change. Based on what they learn from the community and LE course materials, class members will identify similar interests, form teams, and develop a community project that addresses one particular regional issue facing the Eastside community. This practical application helps prepare future community leaders for challenges they may experience while creating positive change, program officials say. Over the past three years Leadership Eastside has graduated 96 Eastside community leaders. LE’s alumni (Class of 2008) and members of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 classes are serving their communities as elected officials (mayor, city council, commissioners), as non-profit board of directors, and all as community volunteers. The three previous classes delivered 17 regional community service projects impacting Eastside basic needs, education, neighborhoods and communities, and the environment.

Support for LE comes from a broad base of public, private and not-for-profit organizations committed to healthy Eastside communities. These include Symetra Financial; The Boeing Company; City of Redmond; King County; Evergreen Healthcare; The Seattle Foundation; Overlake Hospital Medical Center; City of Bellevue; Cascadia Community College; First Mutual Bank; Group Health Cooperative; GLY Construction; Lake Washington Technical College; Microsoft; Puget Sound Energy; Sound Transit; Lake Street Catering; CH2M Hill; Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center; City of Issaquah; Rowley Properties; United Way of King County; Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce; City of Duvall; King County Library System.

More information on the program and organization is available by calling 425-736-2800 or visiting their Website at www.leadershipeastside.com.