Her Story
About Lynette
I've spent 15 years in logistics and operations, and it's become my true passion. I tell people, including my son who has autism, that operations is something we do every day - it's as simple as waking up, going through your morning routine, taking care of personal hygiene. That's operating on a day-to-day basis, and you don't need a degree to understand it, though I do have one. What you really need is common sense. My journey has taken me through various roles, including working as a traffic controller at a semiconductor company where we manufactured microchips for products like Apple phones, handling everything related to Intel's manufacturing logistics and day-to-day operations. I learned a hard lesson there - if you don't have good leaders or management, you cannot build a strong workforce. The company didn't value employees enough and treated us like numbers rather than people, so I left and went somewhere that took my value and expertise more seriously and treated me with respect. For the past year, I've been in a supervisor role in operations and logistics, though I'm currently transitioning to a new position after my previous company went under. My main area of expertise is leading - I lead with empathy and communication, and I stand in front of my team before I let them fall. A typical day for me involves checking loads to see where I'm going to place my people, figuring out what operations are coming in, managing the stigma we need to handle, keeping up with KPIs and metrics, supporting my employees with their emotions, and then getting back on the floor to make sure everything is flowing effectively. I use the STAR approach consistently. There's never a typical day in logistics - it's always changing, always challenging, and that's what I love about it.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lynette
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success comes down to two things: my child and my faith in God. My son is my greatest inspiration, my blessing, and the reason I am here. He is what keeps me moving and is my motivation. I tell people I love him so much - just because he's autistic doesn't diminish how smart, kind, and good-hearted he is. He doesn't even know what a lie is. He's verbal, high-functioning, and brilliant. He's the reason why I fight and go hard, why I continue to strive. It's not about a paycheck or a job - it's my child and my faith. This is what got me this far. I also had to break free from my past - I grew up in a difficult environment where my father was a known drug leader in Philadelphia, and I'm the firstborn of almost 13 or 14 siblings. I had a lot against me, but God always kept me there. I remember walking up to my father and telling him I didn't want to be part of that life, that I was the author and governor of my own life. I told him I was breaking those shackles and wouldn't be gangbanging or getting locked up. I said I couldn't be scared of him and afraid of God at the same time, and I feared God more. That decision changed everything. My dad later told me before he passed that I was the first of his children to stand up to him like that, and he respected me for it. Today, I'm not the woman I was two decades ago - I probably would have been locked up or in the ground with my brother and father if I hadn't made that choice. God knew better, and that wasn't my calling.
02What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values to me are resilience, faith, and standing up for what's right no matter the cost. I've learned to keep pushing no matter how hard things get - sometimes I cry on my own when I need to, but I put on my big girl underwear and keep it pushing, then cry later. I have to stay proactive because if not, I'm gonna break, and I can't afford that. I also value treating people with respect and dignity. I believe in leading with empathy and communication, and I stand in front of my team before I let them fall. I would throw myself up in the fire before I would let them burn. That's just how I am. Even though people don't always give back the same energy you put out, I can't worry about that - I only can worry about what Lynette does. I also refuse to let others define me by their judgments or stigmas. People look at me and see a Black woman with dreads who's masculine with a tattoo on my face, and they assume I have no education or that I'm just a thug. But there's more to what you see in a person - there's more to me. That stigma made it even harder to continue improving my education and getting higher education, especially as a Black American woman on the LBGT side of the community. But I kept going because I'm the author and governor of my own life. This tattoo on my face doesn't define who I am as a woman - it was placed there out of protection for someone else, because I would stand in front of my team before I let them fall.
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