Education
Michigan State University.
Michigan State University.
She resides in Onondaga Township in Ingham County. Prior to that, Byrum served on the Michigan State House of Representatives from the 67th District, where she served as the first-ever woman Democratic House Leader. Byrum was term limited out of that office at the end of 2006.
Her daughter, Barb Byrum, was elected to replace her in the House of Representatives.
Byrum was previously elected to serve two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives from the 58th District, serving from 1991 to 1994. She then served in the Michigan Senate representing the 25th District, from 1995 to 2002.
She was also an Ingham County Commissioner from 1983 to 1990. In 2000, she ran for a seat in the United States. House of Representatives to represent Michigan"s 8th Congressional district.
She lost to Republican Mike Rogers by only 111 votes, making it the closest Congressional election in the United States that year.
Byrum served as spokeswoman for the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care, the organization that successfully passed a ballot initiative allowing the medical use of marijuana in Michigan on November 4, 2008. She also served as spokeswoman for Reform Michigan Government Now!, a Hastings, Michigan-based group that attempted to reform Michigan"s government through a 2008 ballot proposal. Byrum served as Treasurer of the Michigan Democratic Party from 2007 until 2009.
Since 2007, Byrum has served as Company-Director of the Michigan Public Leadership Program.
Byrum has been elected to numerous public offices, most recently as a member of the Michigan State University Board of Trustees.