Welcome to our New Advancement Manager, Tessa Lyons

 Fred Wells Tennis and Education Center is excited to announce the hiring of Tessa Lyons as The Fort’s new Advancement Manager.

The Advancement Manager leads the Development and Communications department and works closely with the Assistant Executive Director to oversee and manager all aspects of the Fort’s fund advancement program, marketing, and communications. Lyons began her new position on January 4.

“This is such a full-circle opportunity for me to give back to a sport that has given me so much. I know how important a place like the Fort is in people’s lives and the way tennis can be a vehicle to education, community, and life-long success. I am excited to get to work and join the Fort’s team full of great people that also embody The Fort’s mission.”

Lyons comes to The Fort with an extensive background in tennis as a former player, coach, and business professional. She spent the last year and a half as the Partnership Sales Manager for the Volvo Car Open, a WTA Premier tournament in Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to that she worked for a consulting company whose cliental included other NJTL Chapters, USTA Foundation, WTA Charities, and the Bryan Brothers. Tessa was a four-year scholarship athlete at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and helped the team win its first National Indoor Championship in 2013. In her senior year, the Tar Heels were the NCAA Tournament Finalists and finished the year ranked #3 in the country. After graduating, she was the Assistant Coach at Ball State University for two years where the team won two regular season and one MAC Tournament Championships to advance to its first ever NCAA Tournament. She has hung up her racket, for the mean time, and earned a 200-Hour Professional Yoga Teacher Training Certification.

Tessa is excited to join the Twin Cities tennis community and hopes her passion for the sport will help grow the Fort’s mission of bringing people together of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds through the life-long sport of tennis. We are equally excited, and Christine Nickels, Assistant Executive Director, says, "Tessa has an enthusiastic passion for tennis and leveraging the game as a positive youth development tool as well as the professional skills needed for this position. We are thrilled for her to join our team and get to know our amazing Fort community."

Tessa can be reached at tessa@fwtec.org or 612-252-8367, ext. 115