Lynsey N. Graham

'EA LYNSEY NORA GRAHAM REA (Age 38) A Senior Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, died peacefully at her home on the morning of Saturday, September 17 2011, after a lengthy illness. Lynsey joined the Banking Committee staff as a counsel to its then-Chairman, Senator Paul Sarbanes. She worked for Senator Sarbanes until his retirement and then worked for Committee Chairs Christopher Dodd and Tim Johnson. She concentrated on issues relating to consumer protection and corporate governance. She was instrumental in helping shape the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which put in place strong new protections for credit card users, and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which allowed consumers expanded access to their credit reports and the ability to address inaccuracies in them. She was also instrumental in shaping the major consumer protection provisions of the landmark Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, including those which established the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 concerning the responsibility of corporate boards of directors for accurate financial reporting She continued to work until a few weeks before her death. Lynsey was born on January 23, 1973 in Boston Massachusetts, to Massachusetts Appeals Court Justice R. Malcolm Graham and Joyce Jackson Graham. She attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge Massachusetts, graduating in 1990. Lynsey, captain of the girl's crew team and co-captain of the girls' cross-country team, received numerous academic awards, including the Nichols Prize awarded to the girl and boy athlete in the upper classes who, throughout the year, attain the highest distinction jointly in scholarship and athletics. Lynsey attended Harvard University, accepting a Harvard National Scholarship and graduated from Harvard, "cum laude", in 1994. During her sophomore and junior years at Harvard, she was a member of the Women's Varsity Lightweight Crew and received an award for the most inspirational team member. Lynsey was also a member of the Harvard Kuumba Singers. In 1995, Lynsey entered Yale Law School and graduated in 1998. After graduation she moved to Washington DC and joined the Law Firm of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering before joining the Banking Committee staff. Lynsey was an accomplished horseback rider and swimmer, an avid skier, and a voracious reader, particularly fond of biographies of 18th century classical music composers. In addition, she enjoyed traveling to various parts of the United States and Western Europe. The family said of Lynsey, "She had a passion for life, an insatiable appetite for learning, and a wealth of interests and talents." Lynsey is survived by her husband, Thomas and their 6 year old daughter, Naomi; her parents, Hon. Malcolm and Joyce Graham; her younger sister Tracey, of Newton MA, her grandmother, Glenora Jackson of Pittsburgh PA; her uncle and aunt, Ronald and Jeanne Graham of Monroe WA; her aunt, Muriel Leonard, Ph.D. and uncle, Steven Leonard, Ph.D. of Mattapan MA; cousins, Courtney and Michael Leonard and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. A memorial service for Lynsey will be held on October 21, 2011 at 10 a.m. in room 106 of The Dirksen Senate Office Building. All relatives and friends are welcome. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Lynsey's name to the charity of your choice.