Susan Lynn Collection on Jim Santini's Rural Tour Campaign

Susan Lynn served as the Rural Counties Representative for Congressman Jim Santini in 1986 when he changed political parties to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican. Susan Lynn was well known in the Reno and Truckee Meadows Community. After obtaining a Master's Degree in Planning from the University of Oregon, Lynn went on to start Public Resource Associates (PRA) with John Livermore. As the executive director of PRA, Lynn assumed most of the organization's major responsibilities. She held this position until PRA closed its doors in 2012. During her tenure with PRA, Lynn worked on a number of projects that dealt with a variety of environmental issues, conducting extensive research and coauthoring multiple studies and reports.

Lynn was involved in a number of community organizations and local government committees. She served as a member of the State Multiple Use Advisory Committee, the Reno Downtown River Corridor Committee, the Washoe County Regional Water Planning Commission, the Truckee River Flood Project as well as other committees and organizations. Additionally, Lynn founded and served as the "commodore" of the Truckee River Yacht Club for 12 years, and held positions on the board of directors for the Nevada Women's Fund, the Desert Trails Association, the Mono Lake Committee, and Great Basin Land and Water.

Lynn's ties to Nevada's rural communities were helpful in her position a Rural Counties Representative for Congressman Jim Santini. Santini was elected to the U. S. Congress as Nevada's sole representative in 1974. Originally a Democrat, he went on to be re-elected three more times and served until January 3, 1983. In 1982, the increased population in Nevada led to reapportionment that created an additional Congressional seat. However, instead of running for a fifth term as Representative, Santini was an unsuccessful candidate for Senate in 1982. Susan Lynn aided his campaign as he ran for Senate again in 1986 as a Republican and lost to Democrat Harry Reid.