Division of Government & Community Relations

Mary has been at RIT a total of eight years--previously in marketing communications and IT roles--and is currently the Osher program administrator. She has a BA from SUNY Geneseo. Outside of work she's a mom to two daughters, who all share a home with their dog Luna and three birds. She has been in awe of the energy, knowledge, and passion of Osher members since she started working there in 2013. 

Lori joined RIT’s Office of Government and Community Relations in May of 2012.  A native of Greece, NY, Lori brought many years of customer service, human resources and supervisory experience to RIT.  She currently oversees the financials for the department and is responsible for assisting the associate vice president and directors.   As the head of GCR’s front desk, Lori often handles inquiries from the community and assists individuals and organizations with the initial phase of RIT event requests. Lori assists in coordinating RIT’s presence at the Rochester Fringe Festival and is involved in supporting RIT’s participation in many events in the Henrietta and Rochester community.  She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree from RIT. Outside of campus, Lori enjoys supporting her children’s interests in dance and soccer and serves on many fundraising committees.

Michelle Lezette has been at RIT since 1996, first as a student then as a staff member. She is a two-time alumna from RIT with a Bachelor of Science in Printing Management and Master of Business Administration. She has worked in Government and Community Relations since 2001, and during that time has planned and executed over 500 events and conferences. For ten years she served as director of RIT’s Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend, an all-encompassing weekend celebration for alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends of the university. She has also worked on a number of small and large-scale community events including the FIRST Robotics Competition, JDFR Walk to Cure Diabetes, JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, as well as numerous groundbreaking and building dedication ceremonies for RIT. In her current role as EMS Administrator, Michelle is responsible for managing and administering an enterprise software system utilized campus-wide at RIT for comprehensive event management.

Lynn brought over 20 years of conference and event planning experience to RIT when she joined the Office of Government & Community Relations in 2005.  She holds a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from Florida International University. Currently as Assistant Vice President of Special Events and Conferences, Lynn oversees the conference staff, serves as Director of Brick City Homecoming & Family Weekend, and represents the division on various university committees. Much of her responsibilities have a community relations focus with her management annually of RIT’s ever-increasing presence in the Rochester Fringe Festival and in assuming the logistical role for the annual Davis Awards.

Prior to these current roles, Lynn planned and executed a wide array of large-scale university events (both on and off campus) as well as coordinated the United Way Campaign. The RIT community has raised over $4.1M for local charities in the 11 years that she managed the campaign, and the university received multiple awards for exemplary service to the Rochester community: President’s Award (2008 and 2015), Richard P. Miller Award (2010), Student Award – Extraordinary Fundraising (2012), Chairman’s Award (2014). Beginning in 2016, an additional role for Lynn will be as Director of Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend.

Originally from Long Island, Jeanne holds a bachelor’s in Business Administration from Hofstra University. She started at RIT in 2007 in the Student Services Office in the College of Liberal Arts and transferred to Government & Community Relations in 2008.  Jeanne brings unique customer service experience to RIT after 19 years with Northwest Airlines in the role of customer service agent.  Currently Jeanne supports the RIT United Way Steering Committee, and assists with executing the award-winning United Way Campaign for the university.  Jeanne also leads the management of the registration process for Brick City Homecoming & Alumni Weekend which brings 17,000 people to campus for various events.  Jeanne supports the Brick City Homecoming Programming Committee to carry out the essential elements for the weekend program. As an Associate Director of Conferences and Special Events, Jeanne is also the lead event planner for a number of events on campus for external clients.