Lyn Christenson Bio

Lyn Christenson

Lyn Christenson has been an SV2 partner since 2002 and was elected to the Board in 2010. She has served as Lead Partner for two grantees – currently for Peninsula Bridge and previously for the San Jose Public Library adult literacy program. Lyn is active in the Education and Environment grant rounds and the Partners Advisory Board, and is a member of the Marketing Communications Committee. She has consulted on communications for SV2 grantees including Fresh Lifelines for Youth, New Teacher Center and Reach Institute. She has taught communications and marketing workshops for SV2 grantees and the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and regularly consults with new grantees on communications strategy and programming.

For more than two decades, Lyn has worked with Silicon Valley biotechnology companies as they tell their stories to influential stakeholders. Her consulting firm, Linkages Group, provides collaborations, meeting facilitation and communications services to Silicon Valley life science companies and nonprofits. She previously served as Director of Communications for Codexis, an industrial biotechnology innovator headquartered in Redwood City. Codexis is consistently recognized as one of the Top 50 Bioenergy Companies in this emerging international industry. Ms. Christenson has managed communications functions for Applied Biosystems, Celera Genomics, Syntex and Aviron.

She holds a bachelor of journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and an MBA from Pepperdine University. Ms. Christenson co-founded the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute and was a founding officer of the predecessor organization to BayBio, the Bay Area’s biotechnology trade association. She is also active in the Silicon Valley nonprofit community. In addition to her role with SV2, she leads seminars on effective communications for nonprofit sector organizations including the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. She has served on several non-profit boards including The Girls Middle School, where she served as vice chairman.

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