March 23, 2016 10:31 AM UTC

Kaiser Health Executive Selected As New Lt. Gov.

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: A statement from GOP Senate President Bill Cadman praises the nomination of Donna Lynne as Lt. Gov., consistent with the bipartisan positive responses we’re hearing today:

Colorado Senate President Bill Cadman (R-Colorado Springs) today released the following statement in response to Gov. Hickenlooper’s nomination of Donna Lynne to be Lieutenant Governor:

“As a longtime community leader and activist, she certainty would bring valuable experience and perspective to the job, if confirmed. And at a time when healthcare is such a significant focus of public concern, for government, business and individuals, hopefully she’ll be just what the doctor ordered.”

Democratic-aligned women’s leadership development group Emerge Colorado responds enthusiastically:

Thanks @hickforco for nominating Dr. Donna Lynne to be our nxt Lt. Gov! Great news for CO! #coleg #copolitics pic.twitter.com/qecG8blVlT

— Emerge Colorado (@EmergeColorado) March 23, 2016

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Word breaking that Gov. John Hickenlooper has selected Dr. Donna Lynne, an executive with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, to succeed the outgoing Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia. Here’s an excerpt from her bio, we’ll update after the official announcement later this morning:

Donna Lynne, DrPH, is the executive vice president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and group president responsible for its Colorado, Pacific Northwest and Hawaii regions. There are more than 675,000 Kaiser Permanente members in Colorado and 725,000 in the other two regions she oversees, with a combined total revenue base of more than $7 billion…

Dr. Lynne serves on the boards of Colorado Education Initiative, Colorado Mountain Club, Colorado Regional Health Information Organization, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver Public Schools Foundation, Teach for America-Colorado, U.S. Bank Colorado Advisory Board and is the former chair of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. She currently co-chairs the Denver Education Compact Executive Advisory Board for Mayor Michael B. Hancock. Additionally, in 2010 she was one of 16 statewide transition co-chairs and the Personnel and Administration Committee co-chair for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. Dr. Lynne currently serves on Gov. Hickenlooper’s TBD Colorado Advisory Group.

She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of New Hampshire, a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University, and a doctorate in public health from Columbia University. She also holds the designation of Certified Employee Benefits Specialist from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans/University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. In 2014, Dr. Lynne received an honorary doctorate of public service from the University of Denver. Since 2005, She has been an adjunct associate professor of Public Health at Columbia University.