WELCOMING NEW LEADERSHIP AT SEEDLING!
Seedling is proud to announce the addition of two leaders to its executive staff. Meet Executive Director, Dan Leal and Development Director, Linda Thompson!
Dan Leal
Dan joins Seedling as the Executive Director with 21 years of nonprofit management experience. Dan has served as the Executive Director of the Children’s Advocacy Center in Denton County for the last 15 years. Dan led an organization of 29 staff members and 37 partner agencies to provide justice, safety, and healing for abused children. During Dan’s tenure, the Children’s Advocacy Center was selected as the inaugural nonprofit of the year by the Chamber of Commerce in Southern Denton County. Dan also collaborated with Jenna Quinn and State Representative Tan Parker on the passing of Jenna’s Law, which served as the catalyst for Children’s Advocacy Centers in Texas to add education to their service delivery.
Prior to joining the Advocacy Center, Dan served as the Human Services Coordinator for the City of Denton and was named Public Health Advocate of the Year by the Denton County Health Department. He has also been honored by the Denton County Alliance for the mentally ill and been a recipient of the David Fitch Humanitarian Award from the University of North Texas.
Dan and his wife Kirstin have two sons, ages 18 and 20. Dan’s oldest son recently began service with the United States Air Force. Dan enjoys sports and broadcasted high school sports on the radio for 20 years.
Linda Thompson
Linda joins Seedling as the Director of Development with 17 years of nonprofit management experience. After a successful career in corporate sales as an account executive for AT&T and experience as a Board Member of LifeNet Community Behavioral Healthcare in Dallas, Linda was convinced to pursue her passion in a full-time non-profit career. Most recently, Linda managed the YMBL Sunshine Camps development where she worked alongside 250 Young Men’s Business League members to raise money for low-income children to go to week-long summer camp. During Linda’s tenure, the camps grew from serving 800 kids to 1100. Prior to Linda’s tenure with the YMBL, Linda served as the Vice President of Development for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area, leading the organization to the top of the leaderboard during Amplify Austin and laid the groundwork for a development team that grew from two to five as the organization expanded services for more kids and more clubs in the Austin Area.
Linda and her husband, Dick have a blended family of three boys, two girls, and three grandchildren. Dick is a middle school math teacher at Webb Middle School and they enjoy Austin’s music scene on the weekends. Linda’s 15 minutes of fame came when she was a young girl at Central Michigan University studying music and theater and worked alongside Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber, Terms of Endearment, Arachnophobia) in Catcher in the Rye. You might catch Linda singing at the long Center with Chorus Austin and the Austin Symphony Orchestra……. Or with some friends through Girl Guitar Austin at Antone’s.
Meet Executive Director, Dan Leal and Development Director, Linda Thompson!