Cheryl-Lyn is an experienced employment and civil rights attorney and executive leader with deep experience across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. She advises small and mid-size organizations and nonprofits on HR compliance, employment law, and complex workplace issues, bringing a pragmatic, executive-level perspective shaped by leadership, enforcement, and litigation experience.
Cheryl-Lyn currently serves as General Counsel of a national nonprofit organization, where she functions as a strategic advisor to the CEO, executive team, and Board of Directors. This role encompasses enterprise-wide legal and compliance oversight, including employment and labor matters, governance, contracts, ethics, intellectual property, regulatory compliance, risk management, and organizational policy. Cheryl-Lyn also leads and manages multidisciplinary legal and ethics teams and partners closely with senior leaders across the organization.
Throughout her career, Cheryl-Lyn has advised CEOs, senior leadership teams, and boards on navigating sensitive employment issues, labor relations, policy development, and organizational change. She previously served as Deputy Director at a Philadelphia-based legal services organization, where she led human resources and operations for over 200 legal professionals across three offices. Before that, Cheryl-Lyn served at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights where she investigated civil rights violations and mediated disputes to resolution. She also worked as an attorney at a boutique employment firm representing plaintiffs in a wide variety of matters including discrimination, criminal history, and wage and hour cases. Cheryl-Lyn clerked for Chief Judge Petrese B. Tucker in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Cheryl-Lyn operates a limited advisory practice, Bentley Harmon PLLC, providing employment and HR compliance consulting to nonprofits and small-to-mid-sized businesses.
Cheryl-Lyn holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, M.S.Ed. from Long Island University, and B.A. from Harvard University.
