Viola Alexander Lyles

Viola (Vi) Lyles is the mayor of Charlotte, NC and a Sustaining Member of the Junior League of Charlotte. Vi served two terms on city council as an at-large representative from 2013-2017, before becoming mayor. Lyles worked for the City of Charlotte for almost 30 years, starting off as an analyst in the city's budget department before becoming budget director.

During her time with the city, she led and presented the community safety plan and helped develop the city's affordable housing plan and Mecklenburg County's Minority and Women's Business Enterprise Program for small businesses. Lyles also joined the Lee Institute and Flynn Heath Holt Leadership as a consulting director, assisting non-for-profit governmental organizations in strategic planning and project implementation. She worked with the Charlotte Housing Authority Moving Forward initiative, the Committee of 21 transportation initiative and the Charlotte Mecklenburg African American Agenda and Achieve Together community-based advocacy education initiative. She also provided consulting services, leadership development for rising executives and reviews of work processes leading to mergers and efficiencies for nonprofit organizations.

Lyles holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Queens University in Charlotte, NC and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a trained facilitator and executive coach, completing programs at the Institute of Government, North Carolina State University and the Lee Institute's American Leadership Forum.