Dr. Gary R. Lyon is the Vice President of Innovation and External Affairs/Senior Diversity Officer of The Baker Center. His role is to collaborate with the CEO, VP of Programs, and senior management team to drive innovation in children's behavioral health and special education. Dr. Lyon also acts as an external liaison representing JBCC in local, regional, and national venues. Also, as a Senior Diversity Officer (SDO), he is responsible for developing organization-wide diversity and inclusion programs. In addition, he works with senior management and Human Resources to conduct organization-wide training, promote diversity and inclusion, resolve challenges and conflicts, and establish metrics to measure progress towards goals.

Dr. Lyon earned his B.S. in Business Management from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is the top-ranked and the largest HBCU (Historically Black Colleges Universities) in the country. As he obtained his bachelor's, Dr. Lyon had an early start working in management within the nonprofit sector. Later in his early career in nonprofit management, he completed his Master's in Public Administration from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. He then completed his doctorate in Education with a concentration in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Lyon has been working in nonprofit management for over 20 years. He has a vast amount of experience and knowledge in the nonprofit sector. He has an openness and desire to share his expertise at The Baker Center. Dr. Lyon also specializes in diversity equity and inclusion. His dissertation focused on social identity and fostering inclusion in the workplace. He hopes to teach and train core concepts related to diversity, equity and inclusion by utilizing evidence-based tools and guidelines to assist The Baker Center in becoming a multicultural organization.