Having grown up on Neckel Street in Dearborn as the daughter of a hardware store employee and a health care worker, Rep. Byrnes has a deep appreciation of the rewards of hard work and the importance of unions to sustaining the middle class. After high school, Rep. Byrnes earned a bachelor's from the University of Michigan and went on to graduate school in New York City, where she served as a middle school special education teacher and took classes in the evening. After returning home to be close to family and serve her community, Rep. Byrnes continued her work as an educator at the University of Michigan in 2011 and completed the Michigan Political Leadership Program at Michigan State University in 2015.

She's served as a member of the Dearborn City Council since 2018 and most recently as council president pro tem. During her tenure, she's worked to beautify neighborhoods, revitalize business districts, get the COVID-19 vaccine to homebound seniors, pass a first-of-its-kind air quality ordinance and approve economic development projects.