2025 NAMI Elections
NAMI is pleased to announce that five new members have been elected to the NAMI Board of Directors and the NAMI Bylaws have been updated to reflect two new bylaws amendments.
2025 Open Letter to NAMI Membership
For more information on this year's call for candidates, please read the 2025 Open Letter from the NAMI Board President. 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, Cathryn Nacario, explains what NAMI Board service means and outlines requirements for potential candidates in the following video.
2025 Elections Key Dates
Below are important deadlines and key dates related to this year's NAMI elections process:
- March 13, 6:00 p.m. ET: NAMI Board Candidate Expectations call for interested candidates. The recording is available here.
- April 4, 11:59 p.m. ET: Membership submission deadline for NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates.
- April 14, 11:59 p.m. ET: Candidate nominations, proposed bylaws amendments and resolutions are due.
- May 13: Voting information emailed to eligible NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates.
- May 14: Online voting opens. Ballots will be emailed directly to credentialed voters.
- June 11, 6:00 p.m. ET: Online voting closes.
- June 13, 12:30 p.m. ET: NAMI Annual Business Meeting (virtual). The meeting recording is available here.
Candidates for the NAMI Board of Directors
The election of new members to the NAMI Board of Directors takes place prior to the NAMI Annual Business Meeting which will be held on Friday, June 13. Nine candidates were nominated for the 2025-2026 NAMI Board of Directors. To learn more about this year's candidates, visit Meet the 2025 Board Candidates.
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 that are in good standing and have submitted their memberships and dues to NAMI by the membership deadline of Friday, April 4 at 11:59 p.m. ET (70 days prior to the NAMI Annual Business 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. Currently, more than 75% of the elected board members self-identify under this definition.
Bylaws Amendment Proposals
This year, the NAMI elections will include two bylaws amendment proposals. For consideration in the 2025 NAMI elections, proposed amendments to the NAMI Bylaws were to be submitted in writing to NAMIBoard@nami.org and received no later than Monday, April 14, 2025.
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 Tuesday, May 13. The email will contain the necessary information in order to credential a voting delegate, as well as direct leaders to the NAMI website for details about candidates for the board as well as any bylaws amendments and Board resolutions. Eligible NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates should credential the designated voter for their organization as soon as possible by following the directions in the voting packet. Once confirmed, the voting delegate will receive an email from the online voting system inviting them to vote on behalf of the organization.
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
To cast a ballot in the 2025 NAMI elections, each NAMI State Organization and NAMI Affiliate must credential their organization to vote by assigning a delegate to cast the online ballot on behalf of the organization.
Voting opens on Wednesday, May 14 and will close on Wednesday, June 11 at 6:00 p.m. ET SHARP.
Election Results
Election results were reported at the virtual NAMI Annual Business Meeting on Friday, June 13. You can view the recording here.