Debra Lyons
Principal
Lyons Workforce, LLC
Macon, GA
Debra Lyons is Director of Employer Strategies at ACT, Inc. In this role, she uses her experience and entrepreneurial skills to successfully develop and launch strategies that focus on the ultimate customer of workforce solutions, employers. Debra has been with ACT for seven years and was the chief architect for the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative. More recently, she has been involved in leading national strategic credentialing efforts and partnerships for the company. Prior to coming to ACT, she served as the Executive Director for the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development for Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. She was responsible for advising the Governor on workforce development policy and implementing initiatives to strengthen the state’s workforce development enterprise. Lyons oversaw not only the start-up of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development, but was the pioneer and architect of Georgia Work Ready, a one-of-kind workforce development system that links education and workforce development and aligns to the economic development needs of the state, its regions and communities. Georgia Work Ready was honored with the Governor’s Award for Customer Service – 2008 Team Excellence, the Technology Association of Georgia’s Excalibur Award, 2008, the Georgia Bio Community Award, 2009 and the ACT Community Award, 2009.