About Erica
Ms. Lyon has over 25 years’ experience in teaching and supporting mothers and families in their transition to parenting and beyond. She has a Bachelors of Science in Human Development with a focus in Maternal Child Health, is certified to teach through the Childbirth Education Association of Metropolitan New York, and has a Master’s in Public Health from George Washington University. She is the Author of The Big Book of Birth, a coping manual for the big day, covering any and all coping methods for moving through childbirth. She has been featured on national syndicated television in segments on sibling adjustment and teen pregnancy prevention. In recent years she has turned her focus to healthcare access. She spends her time between her beloved NYC where she resided for over 30 years, and her much loved home near the Smoky mountains in East Tennessee. She loves the global diversity of the city and the geographic beauty and serenity of the mountains. She is the mother of three, ages 26, 23 and 11 and jokes she might become a grandmother before her youngest leaves the house.
Having started professional life in health management, she asked herself one startling question after the birth of her first child. How could she have been a reasonably well educated adult and yet stand on the threshold of parenting without any true idea of what was about to happen to her body, her baby and her life? After the birth of her first child in 1994, Erica realized she wanted to change careers. Distilling the overwhelming data and opinion on pregnancy, childbirth and parenting has become a calling for Erica. She values practical, research supported information that women and families can actually use for coping, decision making, and developing their strength in parenting. Her primary focus is supporting mothers and families find their strength in a world of mixed messages and challenges in parenting.
Professionally Ms. Lyon has been a forerunner in her field. She worked at New York City’s premier birth center, the Elizabeth Seton Center, affiliated with St Vincent’s during its 5 year duration. She founded an independent parent and pregnancy education center called realbirth which she ran from 2003-2010. While Founder and CEO of realbirth, she wrote her book The Big Book of Birth (Penguin/Plume). With multiple locations and diverse classes and support groups for expectant and new parents, the business at its peak was reaching 1% of the NYC pregnant population. This was primarily through word of mouth based on its positive reputation. After a break with her third baby, Ms. Lyon went on to be a consultant director for city-wide Tribeca Pediatrics’ education and support programs from 2010-2015.
Ms. Lyon now works as the Executive Director at a free medical and dental clinic ensuring families get the healthcare they need. She has consulted for numerous hospitals, community centers, obstetrical, midwifery and family practices supporting or creating the development of educational and support programs for women and new parents. She has worked extensively in both the for profit and nonprofit world to address needs in maternal child health.