#185 Linda Nguyen, Movement Talent

At a time of profound turmoil in America, community-based and national nonprofits are demanding big bold social change. Progressive nonprofits are the frontline of movements with the capacity to remake inequitable systems affecting the environment, health care, housing and immigration. This is consequential culture-shifting work and nonprofits need infrastructure and staffing that is commensurate to the challenge. Linda Nguyen launched Movement Talent to position social change work for success by connecting the right people to the right organizations. She draws from her considerable experience in recruiting, sustaining and developing staff at Community Change and leverages her relationships with movement organizations. Linda has an ambitious goal, viewing candidates beyond their fit for a particular group. She looks at the potential of each candidate to staff a high-capacity movement for change. And she is placing candidates into many organizational roles because it takes more than a great executive director to make an organization effective. This new candidate-centric approach is an exceedingly fresh take on building a movement. It starts by treating people and organizations with care and respect.