Lynn Ross

Lynn M. Ross is the founder and principal of Spirit for Change Consulting, LLC where she works nationally and across sectors with organizations on a mission to create and sustain equitable policies, practices and places. Dedicated to serving mission-driven organizations, Lynn has over 18 years of multi-sector experience including past senior leadership roles as Vice President, Community and National Initiatives at the Knight Foundation; Deputy Assistant Secretary for policy development in the Office of Policy Development and Research at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute's Terwilliger Center for Housing; Chief Operating Officer for the National Housing Conference and Center for Housing Policy; and Manager of the Planning Advisory Service at the American Planning Association.

Lynn holds a masters of regional planning from Cornell University and a B.S. in community and regional planning from Iowa State University. She served on the boards of KABOOM! and Next City from 2017-2019, and she served as co-chair and co-author of the American Planning Association's historic Planning for Equity Policy Guide. In 2019, Lynn was named one of 50 "Women of Influence" by the Royal Town Planning Institute's The Planner magazine.