Sydney Lyons is a program coordinator at the California Center for Rural Policy. Hailing from rural Appalachian Georgia, she comes to CCRP with a strong passion for supporting rural communities and making educational institutions more accessible and equitable. Sydney graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree majoring in English Literature and a minor in Ethnic American Literature. Before coming to CCRP, Sydney worked in various nonprofit positions related to student support and education, including as a college counselor, academic tutor, literacy coordinator, and teaching assistant. In her role at CCRP, Sydney mainly works on two education grant projects. The Health Career Pathways project seeks to address the shortage of healthcare workers in Del Norte and Tribal Lands (DNATL) with educational programming from preschool to the college and community levels. 3Read23 & Beyond is a literacy initiative aiming to increase kindergarten readiness, bolster access to a quality preschool education, and to have all students reading on grade level by third grade. For both of these projects, Sydney collaborates with local partners to build inclusive curriculum, design outreach materials, and plan enrichment activities. Sydney also assists other CCRP projects through copy editing and formatting reports. Outside of work, Sydney loves to go to the beach with her dog, garden, and play pinball.