Commissioner
Daisy Williams Lynum was elected to the Orlando City Council on
April 14, 1998. Commissioner Lynum was born in Leesburg,
Florida, a small town 45 miles northwest of Orlando. She is one
of eight children and a proud mother of two sons, Sean Edward
(Mercedes) and Edward Juan (Alilah) and three granddaughters, Daniela, Ellessee
and Lily. The Commissioner became a Christian at age 12 and is
currently a faithful member of The New Covenant Baptist Church
of Orlando.
After graduating from Carver Heights High School in 1964, Ms.
Lynum earned an undergraduate degree in Sociology at
Bethune‑Cookman College and a graduate degree in clinical Social
Work (MSW) from Florida State University. As a Rockefeller
Foundation Scholar recipient, Post Baccalaureate studies were
completed at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges in Pennsylvania,
and her teaching certification was completed at the University
of Central Florida. In 2000, Commissioner Lynum completed
the John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for Executives
at Harvard University. Florida Metropolitan University
awarded Commissioner Lynum the Honorary Doctorate of Humane
Letters in May 2005.
Inducted into the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., in 1966
because of its academic and community service requirements,
Commissioner Lynum has remained involved in all aspects of
community, professional and political service. Commissioner
Lynum was inducted into Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Inc., an
organization of business and professional women, in December
2008.
After more than 30 years of employment, first as a 5th grade
teacher, followed by a career as a social worker and
administrator for the Department of Health & Rehabilitative
Services, and a Special Services Social Worker for Orange County
Public Schools, Commissioner Lynum retired in 2002.
Simultaneously, her years of community and civic involvement
have included numerous organizations, boards, committees and
task groups such as: Florida League of Cities Urban
Administration Resolution, and Policy Committees and the Board
of Directors; Board of Directors for the National League of
Cities; and, currently Vice Chair BBIF Board of Directors;
Immediate Past President of the National League of Cities Women
in Municipal Government; Past President of the National Black
Caucus of Local Elected Officials and Immediate Past President
of the National Black Caucus of
Local Elected Officials Foundation Board; Past President
of the Florida Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials; African
American Women's Technology Caucus; Elected Secretary/Treasurer
of MetroPlan Orlando Transportation Board; Orange County Voter's
League; Life Member NAACP; serves on the Nemours Council; and,
2005 Onxy Magazine Poll names Commissioner Lynum as one of 56
most influential African Americans in the State of Florida.
Internationally, Commissioner Lynum has represented Orlando and
our country in Japan, Africa, and China: participated in the
US-China Exchange Association's US Business Matchmaking
Conference in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Commissioner Lynum enjoys
traveling and has visited many Caribbean and European countries
as a tourist for over thirty-five (35) years. Both of her sons
are fluent in Spanish and are also global citizens. Her hobbies
are reading, traveling, and gardening.
Commissioner Lynum's primary focus is quality of life through
sustainable neighborhoods for residents in District 5 and the
City of Orlando.