Sharon Lyle

Sharon, along with her longtime friend Meredith Powell, is the co-founder of Public City. Sharon started out on a pretty traditional path: college, early career as a fundraiser, back to business school, some awesome jobs working with really cool people. Then she was asked to return to Dallas after working in Austin for many years to start a little pet project called TEDxSMU. And that changed everything.

TEDxKids @SMU (the first ever TEDx programming for young folks) and TEDxSMU quickly became passion projects for Sharon and her team, and she was immersed in a global community of incredible thinkers, artists, change agents, and innovators. She found her place as a content curator, platform builder and dot connector. With an added knack for a little spontaneous fun and a sometimes wicked wit, Sharon spent the about four years building community around TEDxSMU and other programs she came up with along the way, like the first-ever (and now emulated) Idea Week.

Other awesome teams she's had the privilege to serve alongside include the educators and do-gooders at KIPP Dallas-Fort Worth; the dynamos at Arsenal Brand (formerly Russell/Shaw); the PR geniuses at Levinson Brinker Public Relations (including her mentor Stan Levinson); the creative minds at The CE Group; the fundraising sharp-shooters at San Antonio Academy; and the witty and bright team led by her other mentor Rena Pederson at the Dallas Morning News.

Sharon's big on collaborations. She's big on cities. She's bullish on Dallas, her home base. And she hopes that where ever Public City takes them, she and Meredith will get to keep working on projects that mean something to both of them.

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