Charmaine Lyon is a strategy and operations leader who loves helping mission-driven organizations turn big ideas into practical action. With more than 15 years of experience across the social profit, consulting, and technology sectors, she’s built a career around bringing clarity to complexity, aligning people around a vision, and creating systems that actually work in real life — not just on paper.
Her experience spans fundraising strategy, organizational design, digital transformation, governance, and operational leadership, with a particular passion for helping organizations navigate growth, change, and moments of transition. Over the course of her career, Charmaine has led major gifts and annual giving initiatives, supported revenue diversification strategies, built fundraising operations and donor systems, and guided organizations through CRM and digital transformation projects designed to strengthen both donor engagement and internal capacity.
Charmaine combines the empathy and adaptability that come from working inside nonprofits with the structured problem-solving approach of a consultant, giving her a unique ability to bridge strategy and execution.
Currently leading Commercial Strategy and Operations at Huron Consulting Group, Charmaine focuses on building the systems, structures, and strategic alignment needed to support organizations in a more holistic and client-centered way. Earlier in her consulting career, she worked directly with nonprofits and mission-driven organizations including the American Heart Association, Save the Children, The Trevor Project, and the National Eczema Association on initiatives spanning fundraising, digital transformation, and organizational effectiveness.
Prior to consulting, she held leadership roles within nonprofits focused on food security, poverty reduction, community impact, and international development, including several years living and working in East Africa supporting grassroots initiatives.
She’s especially energized by helping organizations build stronger teams, smarter operations, and more sustainable pathways to impact along the way.
