Her Story
About Linda
Linda Nguyen serves as Executive Director of Community Builders Network of Metro St. Louis, where she acts as a nonprofit convener and capacity builder for over 70 member organizations focused on community development. With an MSW from Washington University in St. Louis earned in 2015, she transitioned from direct social work practice to addressing systemic issues through community-wide efforts, partnering with neighborhood and organization leaders on place-based initiatives such as affordable housing, economic development, neighborhood planning, and commercial revitalization. She attributes her success to the strength of community collaboration, a value rooted in her upbringing, and remains actively involved as a board member of the St. Louis Vietnamese community while supervising practicum students at Washington University for 11 years, mentoring 15 to 20 future practitioners.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Linda
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success is my community success. I grew up in an Asian household where it's not about independence, it's how we could be in community with others and how we are successful together. So when one person failed, we all failed. And I would love to say the work I do and choose to do every day is about how we all show up for each other, and how we all contribute our assets and our strengths and our experience and knowledge for the common good.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's not who you know, but what you bring to the table, as well. We all have our treasures that we bring to the table. It's so important that we know what we do and how we can effectively with others by bringing our treasures to the table. So often people downplay what they do, like I just know social media, or I might be a stay-at-home mom, or whatever it is, I think it's important to know what treasures you bring to the table, but how do you leverage that and bring that so that you're amplifying the work that needs to be done.
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