Rosalynn Bliss  Rosalynn Bliss (born August 3, 1975) is an American politician, social worker, and mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The first woman to be elected Mayor of Michigan's second-largest city, Bliss took office on January 1, 2016. Bliss has served on the Grand Rapids City Commission since 2006. Rosalynn Bliss comes from a large family having six brothers and three sisters. Her father was a brick mason and her mother worked at a local grocery store. She grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Sault Ste. Marie and graduated from Sault Area High School in 1993. Shortly after, she moved to Mobile Alabama where she attended the University of South Alabama earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice. Upon graduation, she moved to Grand Rapids and began her career working at Hope Network while attending graduate school at Michigan State University. She earned her Masters in Social Work and professionally started working in the field of Domestic Violence and Child Welfare. Bliss formerly served as Director of Residential Services at DA Blodgett-St. John's, which provides emergency shelter and residential services for abused and neglected children. She also served as adjunct professor of social work at Grand Valley State University since 2006 and currently serves as the Frederik Meijer Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Grand Valley's Frederik Meijer Honors College. Bliss is Past President of the Michigan Municipal League and currently serves on the boards of the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, Grand Rapids Promise Zone Authority, Housing Security Initiative, National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education, and Families, Downtown Development Authority, Experience Grand Rapids, Convention Arena Authority, Urban Core Mayors, Future State Advisory Committee, Economic Club and Interurban Transit Partnership. Bliss was first elected to the Grand Rapids City Commission in 2005. She was re-elected in 2009 and 2013. During her time as a City Commissioner, she led a Blue Ribbon Panel on Parks, was a founding member of the non-profit organization Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and served on the millage campaign for Parks, Pools and Playgrounds. She served on the Uptown Corridor Improvement District and was a part of the Fulton Street Farmers Market Redevelopment among other neighborhood and community initiatives. In 2015, Mayor George Heartwell was prohibited from seeking a fourth term. Bliss was one of four candidates who entered the race to succeed Heartwell; the others were Robert Dean, John George, and Willard Lee.