Los Alamos 2026 Living Treasure Linda Daly. Photo by Kim O’Donnell
Editor’s note: Linda Daly is one of three 2026 Los Alamos Living Treasures, along with John Ruminer and Kyle Wheeler
BY CRAIG MARTIN
Los Alamos Living Treasures
Linda Daly’s commitment to Los Alamos provides the cornerstone for everything she does. In a leadership role for many local organizations, her energy, skill as a listener, and her joyful, caring, make-it-happen practicality have brought people together, made ideas bloom, and enriched the community.
If a group needed a leader, they wisely asked Linda.
Linda’s father was in the military, and her mother was Japanese. Her family was constantly on the move, following her father’s military assignments. While that gave Linda a global perspective, it didn’t give her the opportunity to settle down and establish roots.
That changed in a big way when Linda came to Los Alamos. Following college at the University of Hawaii and several years applying her degree in Communications in Hawaii and Japan, Linda came to Los Alamos as a single mother with two daughters, Sarah and Emmy. She worked as the Community Education Director at the University of New Mexico-Los Alamos.
“From the get-go, I was involved with community work, discovering what our community would like to have more of, whether it be in arts, education, or whatever,” Linda said.
In recognition of her communication skills and ability to bring people together to meet a common goal, Linda was soon invited to join the board of the Family YMCA. She was also asked to become a member of the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos.
“I was extremely honored,” Linda said. Despite some misgivings that she wouldn’t quite fit in, she jumped at the opportunities.
“It was a great education for me and I made great connections,” Linda said. “I had a compelling need for this because I had a feeling that this was going to be a place where I was going to be for a long time. And there was a voice in me saying, ‘You have got to be the very best version of yourself for your daughters.”
The Family YMCA board soon realized that Linda was the perfect fit to become the CEO of the Y. The Y’s departing CEO, Emily McGay, helped Linda learn the ropes, and soon Linda was expanding the Y’s programs and developing programs like the Los Alamos and Española Teen Centers. Linda spent nearly 20 years at the helm of the Y, doubling the membership and the budget, providing steady leadership that touched many lives, particularly those of young people and seniors. Linda’s work with the Y reached far beyond Los Alamos. She served for 12 years as chair of the New Mexico Alliance of YMCAs. “I was actually for a while the only Asian female CEO of all the Ys in the United States,” Linda said. “I was asked to be a part of the Asian Pacific Islander Resource Network, and then frequently traveled to Chicago to participate in the Y’s Employee Resource Council. I became very involved with bringing equity into the equation.”
During this time, organizing projects with the Kiwanis Club permitted Linda to hone her
skills in creating relationships.
“I learned to talk to all kinds of people, even if I was intimidated by some of them,” Linda said. “When you have the common thread of really wanting to improve where you live and serve others, everything else kind of falls away and you just see a golden heart.”
One day Linda twisted an ankle and physician and Y user Paul Daly noticed her hobbling around. He took a look at her foot and recommended she see her doctor. When she called the office, the receptionist told her that her doctor had just retired, but she could have her seen by Dr. Daly. “Oh, he’s gonna think I’m stalking him,” Linda thought. Paul sent her to a podiatrist, but never missed an opportunity to check in on Linda at the Y. Soon after, they married.
In retirement, Linda expanded her commitments to the community.
“The three key resources that are close to my heart that I believe we are lucky to have in this community are UNM-LA, the hospital, and the YMCA,” Linda said. “All of those places serve children, young adults, and seniors.”
After agreeing to fill the term of a member who resigned from the board of UNM-LA, Linda decided to try to serve another term. “I actually got to run for public office and I won,” Linda said with a smile. Of course, the board itself elected her chair.
After a two-year absence from the Family YMCA, Linda accepted an invitation to serve on the Y’s board. Because the Y was hiring a new CEO, she saw an opportunity to help mentor whoever was hired, just as Emily McGay had mentored her.
“My role evolved into that of sounding board for the new director,” Linda said.
Because Paul had been Chief of Staff at the hospital, Linda was familiar was the hospital organization and administration. When the hospital needed a leader for its advisory board, they turned to Linda. She currently serves as the chair of the Los Alamos Medical Center Advisory Board.
Linda’s service to community also continues through the Los Alamos Community Foundation, where she serves as chair. Her experience as a non-profit executive, as well as her community spirit and willingness to contribute, serves as a source of wisdom and inspiration to the foundation. “In a small community, organizations are about relationships,” she said, “and with the foundation I can help build relationships between non-profits, with business leaders, and with donor and potential donors.:
“One of my messages to young people is please don’t wait to be asked to make a contribution to our community because there’s so much opportunity to make a difference,” Linda said. “There are many organizations that can use not just the money, but your ideas, time, and willingness to roll up your sleeves and help,” Linda said. “There is a lot of need, and if you love this community, find a way to be involved.”