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Biography
Lynne Martine Patton (born 1973 or 1974) is an American event planner, who was designated in June 2017 by President Donald Trump to head Region II of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees New York and New Jersey. She previously worked as an event planner for the Trump family, including planning the wedding of Eric Trump, and helped run the Eric Trump Foundation. She was a speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Early life and education
Patton grew up in New Haven, Connecticut. Her father is epidemiologist Curtis L. Patton, who was a professor (now emeritus) at Yale University.
Patton graduated from the University of Miami with a B.A. in English literature. She attended the Quinnipiac University School of Law; school officials have stated that she was a student for only two semesters, and did not graduate. Patton also claims affiliation with Yale University on her LinkedIn page, which she did not attend.
Career
An Eric Trump Foundation staff biography of Patton states that she was involved in casting the 2012 and 2014 seasons of The Celebrity Apprentice, though she is not mentioned in the show credits on IMDb.
Patton was one of 16 unpaid directors at the Eric Trump Foundation, though her position did not appear in the Foundation's 2014 tax filings. Her HUD financial disclosures stated that she had been a vice president and a board member at the Eric Trump Foundation from January 2009 to January 2017, and she speaks of being with the Trump family since 2009.
In May 2016, during Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign, Patton narrated a YouTube video called “The Trump Family I Know – A Black Female Trump Executive Speaks Out,” in which she defended the Trump against accusations that he was is racist. She spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention; the official convention program listed her position as "Vice President of The Eric Trump Foundation and Senior Assistant to Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Donald Trump, Jr.". Her convention speech defended Trump's views on racial and homophobic discrimination. Later in the campaign, Patton joined other campaign spokeswomen on the Trump-Pence Women's Empowerment Tour.
She is a board member of National Diversity Coalition for Trump.
Trump Administration
Beginning in January 2017, Patton served as a White House liaison and Director of Public Liaison for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Since the Trump Organization co-owns some properties that receive federal rental subsidies from HUD, her position raised questions of conflict of interest.
Beginning in July 5, 2017, Patton is to head Region II. She has no reported experience with housing policy. Congressional Representatives Grace Meng and Nydia Velázquez, both Democrats from New York, publicly urged the administration to reconsider the appointment.
Personal life
Patton says she has struggled with substance abuse and addiction, and publicly praised the Trump family for standing by her through tough times.