Lynn Meredith

BY FORREST PREECE

The random chances in life never fail to intrigue me. Back in the late 1960s, two bright young people were attending St. Francis, a private university outside Pittsburgh. One was a woman who grew up going to a Catholic school in Queens. The other was an all-star soccer goalie from Philadelphia, there on a scholarship.

They met, became a couple, and married after they graduated. If they hadn’t both attended this institution, it is likely that Austin would have been deprived of two powerful forces for social good.

On a recent morning, I talked with Lynn Meredith in the downtown penthouse where she lives with her husband Tommie. These two, who were named Austinites of the Year in 2012, have indeed made their positive mark on our town.

Some background on their life journey that landed them in Austin: after graduating from college and getting married, they moved to Pittsburgh, where Tommie went to law school and Lynn did graduate work and taught middle school. Then it was on to Washington, DC.

From there, they moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Tommie was working as a tax attorney and Lynn joined the Palo Alto Junior League, where she had opportunities to sharpen her skills in community impact for social improve- ment, how to identify issues, run a meeting and build advocacy. Soon, she was traveling around the country teaching advocacy skills to other Junior League Members. She looks back with pride on one project in particular from that time — “Christmas In April.”

This program repaired peoples’ homes – such as adding ramps or fixing roofs — so they could remain in them. “It’s important to do the actual work and to let others know that our neighbors need a hand up,” Lynn says. This project resulted in many people avoiding homelessness, an issue that

Lynn is still actively combating in Austin.

While they were in the Bay Area, Tommie’s achievements and professional reputation began to attract notice nationwide. When Dell Computer began looking for a chief financial officer, the firm’s board members Dr. George Kozmetsky and Admiral Bobby Inman suggested that they approach him. In 1992, Tommie joined Dell as senior vice president and chief financial officer, and after Lynn finished the school year in California with their kids, she moved to Austin.

It was inclusion from the very first in Austin for the Merediths. “I was fortunate that Nancy Inman and Ronya Kozmetsky shepherded us around town, and helped me meet the right non-profit leaders. Austin is such a welcoming place,” Lynn says.

Soon she met Debbie Edward, founder of the Austin Children’s Museum. Of all the executive directors of nonprofits Lynn had encountered, Debbie sparked Lynn’s interest the most. She began working with the museum and chaired the International Children’s Festival. Soon she was chairing the museum’s board, and headed the campaign to build the Children’s Museum on Second Street. Today the Thinkery is thriving in the Mueller neighborhood, where it offers indoor and outdoor activities that let children and families learn through play. “That is my longest-standing commitment,” Lynn says.

Lynn’s initial involvement in the community was geared towards helping make our city a more creative and inclusive place. But as Austin grew and there were growing pains, she became interested in addressing the basic needs of our citizens. In the late 1990s, ism. Those lessons include a lot of hands-on, practical skills — like how to change tires and public speaking. “It makes me happy when I see moms and daughters serving and investing in our community at places like the Thinkery and Mobile Loaves and Fishes,” Lynn says.

In 2010, when she and Tommie moved downtown near Waller Creek, as a family they committed to improving the environment in the city’s center. As supporters of The Nature Conservancy and environmental efforts, making Downtown greener was a perfect next step.

Tommie was tapped to be a co-chair of the Waterloo Greenway Project. This project is a deep, long, strategic effort to preserve Austin greenspaces and reduce barriers for people from all over the city to come together in an urban setting with natural surroundings. “The Greenway is about community, embracing and expressing the city’s many cultures, a love for nature, and promoting mental and physical health.” She adds that she is proud of how this effort found backing from so many communities –business, tech, government and non-profits.

Waterloo Greenway will add 1.5 miles of trails and 35 acres of greenspace. “I feel fortunate to live in a city where a project like this can be realized. The leadership – original and current – is fabulous and there are more great things to come.” with two other women, she started the local chapter of the National Charity League, which works with girls in grades 7-12 and their mothers. The group encourages moms and daughters to work side by side and learn habits and skills of leadership and volunteer-

The Park and Moody Theater on 15th Street is now open and has widespread community acclaim. The groundbreaking for the southernmost piece, 4th street to Lady Bird Lake, was held in May with completion in 2025. In keeping with the original “barbell” overall plan, the two geographic ends of the project will be finished before the mid-section is started.

Recently, Lynn has become more involved with the homelessness response system. As she says, in 2018 and 2019 it became clear that too many people were “getting stuck” and were having to struggle to keep from becoming homeless and resolving their homelessness. She is working with Downtown Austin Alliance, the Chamber, City Hall and community leaders on this issue. Organizations like Caritas, Mobile Loaves and Fishes, Foundation Communities and faith-based groups were working diligently along the same lines, but it was obvious they were stretched for resources.

She now sits on the board of the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), the lead agency that plans and implements community-wide strategies to end homelessness in Austin and Travis County. Synergy is being produced by combining the efforts of non-profits working on the issue. The objective is to provide a path to self-sufficiency with dignity through community, housing and supportive services. “My life is about community impact and being a part of the solution to the needs we should be addressing in our city.”

Along the way, Lynn launched four children. They went to colleges in other parts of the country and are all thriving in their own ways. “Three of my four children live here, and I have eight grandchildren. I’ve had a wonderful life in Austin and it’s getting better all the time.”