The wife of Norman Burnstein, Lillian was the head of the local organization of Jewish women. She was a member of the Sisterhood of Temple Beth Israel in Jackson, Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women, although Jackson did not have a chapter. A white woman, she initially had reservations about participating in WIMS but became more involved as the first summer progressed. The Burnsteins came to Jackson in 1948, and Lillian became active in community affairs. She served as president of the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters, and the Lester School PTA, and was a member of the Jackson Civic Arts Council and the Jackson Council on Human Relations. Prior to coming to Mississippi, she taught special education in New Orleans and Milwaukee.