Lynn Greer

Lynn Greer

Board Position: Vice Chair
Board Chair, Greer Foundation

Greer’s advocacy work for social justice began with the AIDS-related death of her brother, Michael, in 1986. Since then, she has dedicated her life to raising awareness of and gaining equal rights for the gay and lesbian community and people living with HIV/AIDS. Greer chaired the HIV/AIDS Community Advisory Coalition of Metropolitan Columbus, and has been a volunteer for the Columbus AIDS Task Force. She has worked extensively promoting AIDS-related legislation, and her efforts garnered national coverage in the March 12, 1990 issue of Newsweek Magazine.

Through her AIDS activism, Greer became involved with the political process. Greer served as an intern with the Human Rights Campaign and worked with U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy and his staff on the passage of the Federal Comprehensive AIDS Bill, which became law in 1988. In 1991, she served as the founding co-chair of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, a national organization in Washington, DC that works to elect gay people to public office.

In 1994, Greer was appointed to the Columbus Recreation and Parks Commission, for which she served as vice chair. She has also been an active board member of the Victorian Village Commission, Friends of Goodale Park and the YWCA of Central Ohio. In 1998, Greer was selected as a YWCA Woman of Achievement and inducted into the Academy of Women. For many years, Greer ran a family-owned business of apartment complexes in Columbus.

The involvement led to another area of interest – affordable housing. She was appointed to the Senior Housing Project for the Catholic Diocese of Columbus and served on the Development Advisory Board for Habitat for Humanity Columbus. One of Greer’s biggest lasting legacies on the Central Ohio community was the birth of the future entity that became known as The Legacy Fund. Greer, along with a number of individuals from the GLBT community, began discussions in the late 1990s that focused on the need for developing a financial support system for the region’s LGBT community.

In 2000, The Legacy Fund of The Columbus Foundation was born. In 1996, Greer founded a political consulting company, “Makin’ Things Happen,” which specialized in political consulting and fundraising for candidates interested in supporting GLBT issues. Lynn continued to make things happen on behalf of the interests of the LGBT community. Greer and a business partner began a media outlet for the growing gay and lesbian community. Outlook Publishing took off beyond expectations in the first year. Under Greer’s leadership, the company’s circulation grew to more than 10,000 readers. This publication brought important issues to light and connected gay owned and allied businesses to the LGBT community.

Lynn Greer has served on several boards and has won numerous awards for her public service and for her relentless pursuit of equality and her devotion to the Central Ohio LGBTQ and allied communities. Where ever there is a cause to believe in that makes the world a better place, you will find Lynn Greer. She is a revolutionary leader and teacher. She takes her passion and skill and passes it on to others so they can carry out the mission of her legacy.