Charlene Lyons Earns Certified Praesidium Guardian (CPG) Designation

We are proud to announce that our CEO, Charlene Lyons, has been deemed a Certified Praesidium Guardian (CPG) by Praesidium, a national leader in risk management of sexual abuse of vulnerable populations. She joins a community of professionals who have demonstrated that they are committed to creating a culture of safety through risk management and best practices in sexual abuse prevention. 

The CPG certification was created to recognize individuals who are dedicated to the prevention of sexual abuse of vulnerable populations. To attain certification, Charlene successfully completed a robust certification process, where she became proficient in best practices in organizational abuse prevention that includes specific steps to prevent incidents of abuse by employees, volunteers, or program participants. Charlene also demonstrated her knowledge on how to respond effectively if an allegation or incident occurs, and how to ensure that the YMCA of the Treasure Coast stays current and consistent in the implementation of abuse prevention best practices.

To become a Certified Praesidium Guardian, Charlene met requirements in three areas:

• Education – Completed pre-workshop assignment that included of six hours of online training
• Experience – Attended an immersive workshop experience, either virtually or in-person, amounting to 20 hours of learning, discussion, and application of abuse risk management skills rooted in Praesidium’s Safety Equation(TM)
• Knowledge – Completed a post-workshop Impact Project where the Guardian demonstrated their abuse prevention knowledge by putting it into practice in a tangible way at their organization. The Impact Project is specific to each Guardian and their organization and is reviewed by an expert Praesidium Consultant. 

Charlene will be certified for three years, and during this time will continuously work towards creating a safe environment and demonstrating their commitment to protecting those in their care from abuse. 

Praesidium and the YMCA of the Treasure Coast are proud of Charlene and her efforts to enhancing the culture of safety at the Y. Their continued work has helped remind staff of our commitment to child abuse prevention and that everyone has the responsibility to protect those in their care. They are an excellent resource for our organization and the surrounding community in sexual abuse prevention.