Lynn Canfield has served as Executive Director for the Champaign County Mental Health Board and the Champaign County Developmental Disabilities Board since 2016 and as their Associate Director for Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities from 2009 to 2016. Prior to that, she worked for 19 years in the DD system as a residential instructor, case manager, program manager, and clinical coordinator focused on behavioral health treatment for those with multiple diagnoses as well as Medicaid compliance. In her current work, Lynn supports a small team of experts and members of the two volunteer boards and oversees a combined annual budget greater than $9m, primarily invested in contracts with qualified providers to serve Champaign County residents with MI, SUD, or I/DD. She is very active with state and national trade associations, contributing to legislative advocacy and policy statements and participating in communities of practice and learning collaboratives.
But the fun really started back in the 1980s, when after taking a BS in Mathematics at UIUC, she studied Linguistics there, eventually focusing on cultural and linguistic competence across speakers of varieties of English and completing an MA. While passionate about the field, she shifted gears when a close relative with I/DD and MI needed more support and an advocate. Lynn is also a professional musician with an old (but long enough) discography and a great weekend side gig.