Lyons receives WWU Alumni Award of Distinction

6/11/2012 Mary Ann Beahon
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (573) 592-1127

 

Patti Lyons of Honolulu, Hawaii received the Alumni Award of Distinction during William Woods University’s Alumni Weekend. The award was created in 1952 to honor a graduate who has achieved national or international fame in his or her chosen field.

Lyons graduated from William Woods with an Associate of Arts degree in 1954. She earned a master’s degree in social work from Indiana University in 1961 and has been actively involved in her field since—completely devoted to improving children’s lives.
 
Lyons and her family moved to Hawaii in 1965, and she began a 23-year career working for Child and Family Services. She was promoted to executive director of Child and Family Services in 1980 and named president and CEO in 1985.
 
In 1987, Lyons started work in the Philippines to evaluate an adoption program for Filipino children managed by Child and Family Services. She also helped establish a shelter for street children.
 
She left Child and Family Services in 1990, but continued to help innocent children as president and CEO of the Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation. She retired in 2006, but was unable to put aside her passion for helping children and continues to serve as a board member.