2023 NAMI Elections
NAMI is pleased to announce the election of its new Board of Directors. The 2023 NAMI elections also included three bylaws amendments, which were approved by the voting membership.
2023 Open Letter to NAMI Membership
For more information on this year's call for candidates, please read the 2023 Open Letter from the NAMI Board President. Again this year, the board is highlighting specific skills that they are seeking in candidates to strengthen the current skill sets on the board. The letter also highlights the nomination process and requirements of the candidates.
NAMI Board President, Joyce A. Campbell, explains what NAMI Board service means and outlines requirements for potential candidates in the following video.
2023 Elections Key Dates
Below are important deadlines and key dates related to this year's NAMI elections process:
- March 30, 11:59 p.m. ET: Membership submission deadline for NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates
- April 6, 6:00 p.m. ET: Candidate nominations, proposed bylaws amendments and resolutions are due
- Week of May 1: Voting packets emailed to eligible NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates
- May 9: Online voting opens
- May 26, 5:00 p.m. CT: Live candidate speeches at NAMICon 2023.
- June 5, 6:00 p.m. ET: Online voting closes
- June 8, 6:00-7:30 p.m. ET: NAMI Annual Meeting (virtual) - View the recording here (Passcode: ?!5*m8v4)
Candidates for the NAMI Board of Directors
The election of new members to the NAMI Board of Directors takes place leading up to the NAMI Annual Meeting which will be held virtually this year on June 8.
Five new members are elected each year to serve for a standard three-year term. Nominees must be current NAMI members of the NAMI Affiliate or NAMI State Organization making the nomination. Each NAMI Affiliate and NAMI State Organization may nominate no more than one candidate. Nominations may be made only by NAMI Affiliates and NAMI State Organizations in good standing - those that have submitted their memberships and dues to NAMI by the membership deadline of Thursday, March 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET (70 days prior to the Annual Meeting).
To ensure compliance with NAMI's Bylaws, 75% of the NAMI Board must be "persons who have or have had lived experience with serious mental illness, or parents or other relatives, including civil partners, thereof". Candidates are asked to make a statement to this effect. Because all currently seated board members for the 2022 - 2023 term do self-identify under this definition, nominations of those who do not have lived experience as an individual or as a family member are welcomed to this 2023 election cycle.
Potential candidates are encouraged to read the Undertaking NAMI Board Service document, as well as watch this recording from a recent Board Expectations Call held on April 3, 2023, to help them make an informed decision before embarking upon NAMI Board service.
Bylaws Amendment Proposals and Resolutions
This year, the NAMI elections will include three bylaws amendment proposals. For consideration in the 2023 elections, proposed amendments to the NAMI Bylaws and proposed resolutions were to be sent to the NAMI office at the address below by United States Postal Service (USPS), either by registered mail, certified mail, Express Mail or Priority Mail, or any other USPS service offering Return Receipts or Signature Confirmation. Any submissions were to be received by NAMI no later than Thursday, April 6, 2023.
NAMI, Attn: Elections 2023
4301 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22203
Voting Information Distribution
NAMI will be sending voting materials electronically to the leadership of each eligible NAMI State Organization and NAMI Affiliate. These voting materials will be emailed the week of May 1. The email will contain the necessary information on how to credential in order to participate in the election process, and direct affiliates and state organizations to the NAMI website for details about candidates for the Board as well as proposed bylaws amendments.
To be sure that voting information gets to the correct leaders for your NAMI organization, please work with NAMI Member Services to update your current leadership contacts in our national database.
Online Voting
Eligible NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates will communicate to NAMI the person who should submit their organization's ballot on their behalf. Those credentialed voters will then be sent instructions to cast their ballot in the online voting system. Voting opens on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 and will close on Monday, June 5, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. ET SHARP.
Election Results
Election results will be reported at the virtual NAMI Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 8. A recording of the NAMI Annual Meeting is available here (Passcode: ?!5*m8v4).