Linda was born in Greenville, N.C. She attended public schools in Greenville and North Carolina A&T University. She later earned a master’s degree in public administration. Her first job out of college was as a classroom teacher. Before serving in the North Carolina House of Representatives, Coleman was a Wake County Commissioner for four years, and worked as human resources management director at the state departments of Agriculture and Administration and as personnel director for the Department of Community Colleges. In 2004 Coleman was elected to the first of three terms as a Democratic state representative in the North Carolina General Assembly before being appointed director of the Office of State Personnel by the Governor in 2009. Coleman ran for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina in the 2012 and 2016 elections.She was given the Gun Sense Candidate distinction by Moms Demand Action.