Tobi Lyon, 32, uses the word “ranch” as a verb. She can’t get enough of
Michigan State University athletics, and she is determined to help make Lansing a world-class city.
Lyon is a recent transplant to Michigan’s Capital City. She relocated to Lansing last fall, and now serves as a director of major gifts for the
Sparrow Foundation, part of the
Sparrow Health System.
She's traveled “a long trail ride” to arrive in Lansing, and landed here after falling for the city’s diversity and—a word we hear a lot of here at Capital Gains—its potential.
Lyon brings with her an impressive resume that's likely to grow as she makes her mark in Michigan.
By Way of Wyoming Growing up in South Dakota, Lyon traveled 30 miles each way to school, and graduated with a class of 13.
“We raise livestock, beef cattle and sheep. Lots of sheep,” Lyon says
of her family's 25,000-acre ranch in South Dakota, where she grew up on
land her family has passed down through the generations. “We don’t do
any kind of farming. It’s all ranching.”
The work ethic she learned on the ranch has served her well. After college, she settled in Gillette, Wyo., and became active in the local civic scene. She helped found a group called
Fuel Gillette, which organized professionals in the city improve economic, social and political conditions.
She also served as a key adviser to a Republican gubernatorial candidate. “I always had a passion for politics,” she says. “For me, it’s always been something tied to politics and health care. I feel that’s where I can make a difference.”
The campaign failed, but she learned a lot along the way.
“Besides the fundraising aspects, there was so much to learn,” she says. "How to move very quickly on my feet, and how to network extremely well, how to be ready for anything. You never know what the day’s going to hold.”
She made such an impact in Gillette that she was named one of Wyoming’s Top 40 under 40. She moved around quite a bit in the past several years, making a name for herself and working to find a position that fits her.
“I never have a crystal ball where life will take me. If you establish yourself and work hard, good things tend to happen,” she says.
“I see a tremendous amount of growth for years to come in my current position. I am not going to outgrow this job, and that’s very exciting. We are creating a new development team of four development officers, where we each are focused on different service lines to expand and grow the funding for those services lines to new heights,” she says.
“My position is very dynamic, as I get to work with wonderful community members, former patients and two rewarding departments who impact this community greatly in the cancer care center and hospice.”
Lansing's LeverageLansing role as the Capital City is part of what attracted Lyons. “I like having MSU on one end and state government on the other end,” she says. "There is huge opportunity in this area that’s still to be tapped. We are sometimes our own worst enemy, in that we don’t sell it as well as we can."
"I think a lot of people don’t realize how many things this area really has going for it. What more could a girl want who loves sports, politics, and still being able to hop on a plane and travel when I want? And," she adds, "having the privilege of being part of something great like the Sparrow Foundation.”
The job at the Sparrow Foundation is a big positive point for Lyon. The Foundation supports the Sparrow Health System, which recently opened the $160 million, 10-story, Sparrow Tower in
Downtown Lansing.
Sparrow employs almost 900 physicians and has provided nearly half a million outpatient procedures since opening. They also provides residency programs in partnership with Michigan State University's
College of Human Medicine and
College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“I have a passion for caring and am excited to be with Sparrow, as I think there is limitless potential right now,” she says. “When I came out to visit before I accepted the job, I was so impressed with Michigan and the area. For me, this was the perfect fit.”
She was so smitten by Lansing, in fact, she bought a house soon after she arrived.
She's still working to extend her social network outside of work. “Where do you meet 30-something-year-old single people with no kids?” she asks, jokingly. “Once I get settled into a social network with people who enjoy my kinds of things, everything will be set.”
Just what are Lyon's "kinds of things"? Just about anything outdoors: including golfing, skiing, boating and hiking, just to name a few.
“I only have played a few rounds of golf since arriving here this fall, but I am looking forward to spring, to bring out the clubs and find my favorite course here in Lansing,” said says. “I tend to meet good people everywhere I go, so I know it’s just a matter of time here, too.”
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Bryan Mitchell is a local freelance writer.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Tobi Lyon at the Sparrow Foundation and Sparrow Hospital
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie