For the past 17 years Lynne has worked in the mental retardation/ developmental disabilities (MR/DD) field. From serving as a Camp Director, Lynne's career path has taken her to the position of director for an in-home-support agency with regions across Ohio where she was responsible for 450 employees. She also served as Director of Adult Services/ Service Coordination at Licking County Board of MR/DD. Immediately prior to joining Equality Ohio as executive director, she provided training and customer support at a private software company that serves the MR/DD field. She is also the founder and previous co-owner of a successful training and consulting firm.

Beginning in 1997, Lynne worked for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Steering Committee as Central Ohio coordinator of volunteers, co-chair of the Political Committee, and co-chair of the annual HRC Gala Dinner for two consecutive years. From 2003-2005 Lynne served as the liaison from the HRC Columbus Steering Committee to the National HRC Office. In that capacity she collaborated with various local organizations on special initiatives. She also sat on the Board of Governors for HRC and was female co-chair of the 10-state Northern Region, which placed her on the HRC Executive Committee of the Board of Governors. She has organized many rallies, marches, door-to-door literature drops, phone banks, lobby visits, and Town Hall meetings.

My personal motivation for engaging in equal rights work is a internal conviction that everyone deserves equal justice. My professional career has been spent focusing on justice for people with disabilities, while my non-professional experiences center around justice for people who may be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. I do not believe that a person should be treated in a different manner simply because something about who they naturally are happens to be different from another.

I want to see Ohio become a welcoming place for all of its citizens. I believe that Equality Ohio is the vehicle though which we can realize that vision for the GLBT community. What I bring to Equality Ohio is that I believe in what we're doing; I am high energy; I am highly organized; I am passionate about things I believe in; I know the political landscape in Ohio and the nation and because of my statewide career focus, I have many contacts across the state in the GLBT and allied communities.

My goal is that Equality Ohio will become a successful, long-term, stable organization to represent GLBT and allied voices through Ohio. I know Equality Ohio will set a proactive agenda for equality in Ohio, rather than continuously reacting, and that through everyone's participation across the state, we will make Ohio a better place for everyone to live.