Scott Woodruff Lyons - Institute for Security Governance

Associate Principal

Mr. Scott Woodruff Lyons is the Associate Principal for the Advising & Consulting (A&C) Division at the Institute for Security Governance (ISG). In this role he provides leadership and guidance for all Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) programs in the A&C team, with particular attention to efforts in Africa, the Middle East and Western Hemisphere. Mr. Lyons also serves as an instructing faculty member in the areas of anti-corruption and security sector institutional reform, including occasional guest lecturing at the US Naval Postgraduate School.

Previously at ISG, he served as a Regional Program Lead (RPL) for Africa. In this role, Mr. Lyons led ISG institutional capacity building programs in West Africa, including the Lake Chad Basin. He oversaw implementation programs in the areas of human resource management, strategic planning, defense acquisition, logistics, maritime security, intelligence management, and resource management.

Prior to ISG, Mr. Lyons served as a Democracy, Rights and Governance Officer at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) where he helped oversee all democracy and governance programs in the Sudans and was the lead anticorruption advisor for transition and conflict countries. Before entering work in the US government, he was the Director of Programs at the American Society of International Law; oversaw the development of USAID technical guide on court reform for the American Bar Association's Rule of Law Initiative; was legal counsel for the security sector reform program in Liberia; and conducted legal advisory work for the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Mr. Lyons has a JD from American University's Washington College of Law, an MA in International Affairs from American University's School of International Service, and a BA in Middle Eastern and North African Studies from the University of Michigan. He has published extensively on African conflict, International Criminal and Human Rights Tribunals, and Civilian-Military coordination and is also jointly an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Global Health at the Uniformed Services University. Mr. Lyons and his wife, have three daughters and one son.