THE LEE INSTITUTE TEAM

Cyndee Patterson, President
Cyndee G. Patterson is President of the nonprofit organization that owns and operates the historic Duke Mansion and The Lee Institute.

At The Lee Institute, her work includes the leadership of the citizen engagement of United Agenda for Children, Crisis Assistance Ministry’s strategic plan, the History Consortium collaboration work, and Centralina Council of Governments civic engagement. She has also facilitated Connect, The CMS Task Force, and StrengthsFinders assessment and training for the American Leadership Forum and the Charlotte Community Blood Center.

Cyndee’s education includes numerous MBA courses at Indiana University and Queens College and a BA with honors from Purdue University where she graduated with honors. She also has extensive training in facilitation, dialogue, conducting interviews and focus groups and Appreciative Inquiry. She is also a Senior Fellow of American Leadership Forum, Class II.

Previously, she was President and Founder of Patterson Blake, Inc., a corporate meeting and event planning, and organization and development consulting firm. Patterson Blake worked with clients to strategically plan and implement meetings and special events.

Cyndee served as an at-large Charlotte City Council member, 1985-1993 and Mayor Pro Tem, 1989-1991. She was a champion of City/County consolidation in the Parks and Recreation Department and Police Department. She also led the move towards community policing.

Community recognition includes the 1997 Women of the Year, the 1992 Charlotte Chamber Women Entrepreneur, the 1990 Spirit Award, the 2003 Evie Lifetime Achievement Award, the Special Events Magazine National Gala for Best Corporate Event, and the 2001 Marie R. Rowe Award for support of the Arts.

Cyndee is currently the Bechtler Museum of Art Board Chair and a member of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Advisory Board and the Women’s Impact Fund Board. She also serves on the Council of Government’s CONNECT Council.

Charlotte has been Cyndee’s home for 30 years; she loves gardening, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. She and her husband, Robert, have one son, Hank, and an extended family including Allison Blake, and Robert’s children from his first marriage, Michael and Erin. They enjoy the amazing fun of having five granddaughters.


Libby Cable, Director
Libby Cable joined The Lee Institute in January 2004 to coordinate a major community-wide collaboration to develop a System of Care for children with severe emotional disturbances and their families. For more than four years, Libby served as the project director for this ambitious federally funded initiative.

Libby has provided leadership for a wide range of projects at The Lee Institute, including South Carolina First Steps’ strategic plan; the ZFive Infant Mental Health Collaborative; Smart Investing—North Carolina Partnership for Children’s statewide civic engagement initiative; Community Health Services’ strategic restructuring; and a strategic plan for the Foundation for the Charlotte Jewish Community.

Libby’s education includes a Masters Degree in Community Systems Planning and Development from The Pennsylvania State University and a Bachelors Degree in Government and Legal Studies from Bowdoin College in Maine. She is an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow (Class V), has completed Essential Facilitation© with Interaction Associates, and is certified in Public Participation by the International Association for Public Participation. She has also completed training in qualitative research techniques and Appreciative Inquiry.

Before relocating to Charlotte, she worked for 18 years in health care administration at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, VT. Libby loves new challenges, great novels, and finding ways to be outdoors. She and her husband, Dave, are parents of two adult children.


Robbie Howell, Director
Robbie Howell is the Director of the Charlotte Region Chapter of the American Leadership Forum, the flagship program of The Lee Institute. After serving as the Director for Classes XII and XIII, Robbie returns to work with Class XI to join and strengthen community leaders in service of the public good.

Robbie comes to The Lee Institute after a distinguished career in development including six years with Davidson College and nine years with Carolinas HealthCare Foundation. Robbie has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Davidson College. She is an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow (Class VII). She currently serves on the board of directors of Davidson College Alumni Association, the Nancy M. Markle Charitable Trust, North Carolina Outward Bound Charlotte, and is an active volunteer with Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region.

Originally from Luling, Louisiana, Robbie has lived in the Charlotte Region for 33 years. She enjoys photography and anything involving the outdoors, especially cycling and water sports. She is a founding member of the Collier Lilly Ride 4 Life, an annual cycling event that raises funds for LifeShare of the Carolinas. She lives in Charlotte with her chocolate lab, Nola.

Alli Celebron-Brown, Director
Alli joined The Lee Institute in 2010 after five years as a nonprofit consultant in Charlotte.  Alli brings expertise in the areas of process design, organizational change, strategic planning, project management and communications. She has worked on large-scale community projects, such as the Futureof the Library Task Force, Citizens’ Task Force on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and United Agenda for Children.

Before relocating to Charlotte, Alli worked in change management roles in non-profit development and administration for healthcare and arts organizations in Maryland and Florida. She oversaw and executed development audits, organizational restructuring and strategic plan development during her tenure. She also focused on workplace culture and organizational benchmarking.
Alli’s education includes a Bachelors Degree in Portuguese and Spanish from The University of Iowa.  She has completed training in the areas of board development and design, key messaging for nonprofits and a variety of fundraising strategies. She enjoys long distance running, cooking, and spending time with her husband Kyle and two young children.

Viola Lyles, Consulting Director
Vi Lyles joined The Lee Institute after a successful career at the City of Charlotte, where she retired as the Assistant City Manager. Vi has brought her expertise in citizen engagement and facilitation to her work with the Charlotte Housing Authority Moving Forward initiative, the Committee of 21 transportation initiative, the Charlotte Mecklenburg African American Agenda and Achieve Together, a community based, advocacy initiative centered on education.

Vi serves as Chair of the Presbyterian Hospital Board and serves on the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority Board. She has formerly served on the boards of Wachovia Southern Region, Charlotte Chamber, Queens University and Foundation For The Carolinas. She is a member of the Crown Jewels of Links and is a member of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church.

Vi has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Queens University and a Master of Public Administration from University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She trained as a facilitator and executive coach at the Institute of Government and NCSU. Vi is in the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame, received the Leadership Charlotte Excellence Award and was Charlotte Woman of the Year in 2003. Vi also graduated from The Lee Institute’s American Leadership Forum program in 2002.

A personal mission of Vi’s is to leave this city as a better place for African Americans and women, individually and collectively. She believes her strengths are to connect ideas, develop strategies and maximize implementation for the best results. Vi is married to John Lyles, and together they have four children.