Linh Preston
Nominated by NAMI Indiana
Member, NAMI Greater Indianapolis (IN)
Listen to Linh's Candidate Speech
Job Title or Position:
- Nonprofit Management Specialist
NAMI Leadership Experience:
- NAMI Indiana Board: Immediate Past President (Oct ‘22-Oct ‘24); President (Oct ‘18-Feb ‘22, May-Oct ‘22); Vice President and Governance Chair (Oct ‘17-Oct ‘18); Treasurer (Oct ‘15-Oct ‘17); appointed board member (Feb-Oct ’15)
- NAMI Indiana: Acting Executive Director (Mar-Apr ‘22); Interim Co-Executive Director (Gratis) (Jun ‘17); “Faux COO” (Gratis) (Jul ’17)
NAMI Program Leader Experience:
Additional NAMI Involvement:
- State Presidents Council (SPC) 2nd Vice Chair (Oct ‘21-Jun ‘24); SPC member (Oct ‘18-Oct ‘24). NAMI Indiana: NAMI Smarts for Advocacy trainer (Apr ‘25-present); NAMI In Our Own Voice state trainer (Jan ‘24-present) and speaker (Jan ‘14-present); Member, Advisory Board, Governance, Finance, and Public Policy committees (Oct ‘24-present)
Board Service:
- Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library Foundation: board member (Jan ‘25-present); Girls Incorporated of Greater Indianapolis: board member (2009-2014), Secretary (2013), Vice chair and development committee chair (2010-2012), Development committee chair (2009); Catch the Stars Foundation, Inc.: board member (2008-2009); Pacers Foundation, Inc.: Grant Advisory board member (2002-2006)
Relationship to Mental Health:
- Individual with first-person experience of mental illness, Non-profit advocate
Candidate Strengths Assessment
The candidate indicated they have experience in the following areas that will help NAMI achieve its mission and strategic goals:
- Business/Nonprofit Administration, Business/Nonprofit Leadership, Philanthropy/Donor Cultivation, Research/Academia
The candidate indicated they have connections and networks in the following areas:
Candidate Leadership Style
The candidate indicated the following descriptors represent their leadership style:
- Action-oriented, Consensus Builder, Data Driven, Linear Thinker, Outcome-oriented, Process Thinker, Team Player, Works Best Alone
Candidate Narrative
The candidate indicated specific skill areas identified as high priority for the 2025-2026 Board where they excel and additional skill areas that would be an asset to the NAMI Board:
As a nonprofit management specialist and adjunct faculty member of The Fund Raising School at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, I educate boards of directors in best practices in fulfilling not only their legal and fiduciary responsibilities but also their responsibilities as philanthropists to their organizations—volunteering their time, sharing their skills, making financial gifts, introducing others to the mission, and sharing the impact of the organization’s work. My writing and communications skills include simplifying complex data into useful, practical information and finding strategic alignments between mission and resources.
I believe I have a skillset not often identified in board matrices or job descriptions—experience in various roles that give me a spectrum of perspectives. I have often been a liaison between ends of varying continuums like business-driven and mission-driven outcomes; resource development and programs; executive and staff; high-functioning and living with serious mental illness. Being able to implement the concept of “the genius of the AND” (as coined by Jim Collins) in my personal and professional interactions and decision-making has helped bring inclusivity and intentionality into sometimes one-sided discussions or awareness of one side to another.
I personally have helped advance the NAMI mission in my community by...
I’ve held more than a dozen volunteer roles in service to NAMI. The most significant role, and the one I’m most proud of, was serving as the NAMI Indiana Board President for four years. My goals while President were to lead by example in inspiring other board members to grow in their own NAMI volunteer leadership, in inviting others to learn about NAMI’s work and make financial gifts, and in supporting the NAMI Indiana staff who are mission-critical in serving our peers, families, communities, and NAMI affiliates across the state.
I work well in coordination with other leaders to accomplish goals as evidenced by...
I realize this sounds cliché, because it is true—My volunteer leadership and professional successes don’t happen in a vacuum. In these contexts, I accomplish goals or achieve intended outcomes because I aim to be part of teams whose members trust one another to do the work, challenge for the purpose of innovation, and balance diverse personalities, skillsets, and motivations. In circumstances where that might not be the team dynamic, I try to understand any friction, learn from others with whom I might disagree, and encourage us to move in the same direction of our shared objectives.