Lynne is an entrepreneur who has had a number of businesses, including a commercial cleaning company and another where she taught teambuilding activities in the great outdoors to corporate executives. Her work leading activities for the children of incarcerated parents inspired her to found FLIPANY. She felt such a strong connection to these kids that she promised to find a way to sustain and expand the program. She founded FLIPANY in 2005 (Florida Introduces Physical Activity and Nutrition to Youth) and started writing grant proposals. It was a struggle in the early days, working alone and learning the hard way. Lynne’s first hire was a registered dietitian—a commitment to ensuring program quality—and in the first year of operations she hosted the first Annual FLIPANY Fun Run, became the designated Florida Partner for Cooking Matters food skills education programs, and managed an operating budget of $106,000.

18years later, FLIPANY operates a budget of over 6 million dollars with a team of 26 full time staff and management team. During Covid-19 pandemic, FLIPANY retooled its programming in a matter of days to distribute healthy meals to kids and adults in lockdown and to provide virtual cooking classes, fitness classes, and nutrition education activities. By the end of 2020, FLIPANY had partnered with over 450 South Florida meal distribution locations to deliver over 2 million healthy meals.