Tamara Lyn, PhD

Tamara S. Lyn, PhD, ABPP, PCC, served in a variety of clinical and executive leadership roles in prisons and jails, including oversight of all psychology programs in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) between 2015 and 2020. Her BOP career culminated in the role of Warden, where she was one of a very small cohort of women in the position. Working as a Warden during the COVID pandemic, Dr. Lyn developed deep insights into crisis management for teams and individuals, fostered psychological safety, and taught skills for resilience and learning agility.

Dr. Lyn’s current work as an executive coach and consulting psychologist focuses on high-stress, high-impact leadership roles. She incorporates strengths-based approaches and positive psychology into her work with individuals and teams. In  addition to individual coaching, she facilitates workshops for public and private sector leaders seeking to enhance their leadership presence and supervisory skills through a psychological lens.

Dr. Lyn holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She served as an elected member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Board of Directors (2022-2024) and is an elected Fellow in APA divisions representing public service psychology (Division 18) and consulting psychology (Division 13). Dr. Lyn is certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) as a specialist in Organizational and Business Consulting Psychology (OBCP). She serves on the OBCP Board of Directors and the ABPP Board of Trustees. In 2022, she described her professional journey in, “The Surprising Journey from Psychologist to Warden,” published in Psychological Services, the journal of APA’s Division 18, Public Service Psychology.