Running News Daily

Nnenna Lynch to be new chair of NYRR board, Lynch will serve as the first woman and first African American in the position

New York Road Runners (NYRR) today announced that Nnenna Lynch is nominated to serve as the next Chairwoman of the NYRR Board of Directors. It is a historical appointment as she will become the first woman and the first African American in the position.

Since 2014, Lynch has served on the NYRR Board of Directors. Additionally, she serves as the Chair of the NYRR Community Impact Committee, and she is helping to lead the CEO search process for the organization.

Lynch has a long history in real estate development, government, public policy, and finance. She previously served as the Senior Advisor to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, where she set the strategy for growing New York City’s economy and oversaw over 10 city agencies with a collective budget of USD 5 billion and more than 20,000 employees. Currently, she is the founder and CEO of Xylem Projects, a New York City based and mission-driven real estate investment and development firm with a focus on high-impact urban mixed-use, affordable and mixed-income housing.

Lynch will succeed George Hirsch in June 2023 after formal approval by the Board of Directors at its 2023 Annual Meeting. Hirsch, who has served for 17 years, will become Chairman Emeritus. Hirsch is the founding publisher of New York magazine, was the long-time worldwide publisher of Runner’s World and he is a founder of the five-borough New York City Marathon.

“I am honored to serve as the new NYRR Chairwoman of the Board supporting the world’s premiere community running organization. Running has been a lifelong passion of mine, and after eight years of serving as a Board Member supporting NYRR’s community impact initiatives, I’m looking forward to serving in this role to help further NYRR’s presence in the community for future generations,” said Nnenna Lynch.

“I am thrilled to have Nnenna serve as our future Chairwoman of the Board,” said George Hirsch, Chairman of the Board, NYRR. “As a lifelong runner and with her deep experience in the New York community, we know her passion will further our organization’s commitment to the sport as well as supporting our community initiatives throughout the five boroughs. Nnenna is ideally suited for the role.”

Lynch currently holds many leadership positions including Co-President of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars. In addition, Lynch is a Trustee of Villanova University, a board member of the Van Alen Institute, and a former board member of the New York City Housing Authority. She earned an M.A. in Anthropology at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and a B.A. in Sociology at Villanova where she won five NCAA titles in track and field. Lynch is a born and raised New Yorker and since her childhood growing up seeing the urban blight of 1980s New York she has been passionate about revitalizing neighborhoods.