Patrick W. Lawler
Chief Executive Officer

Patrick W. Lawler is CEO of Youth Villages, the largest private provider of services to emotionally troubled children in the state of Tennessee. Under his leadership, Youth Villages has established a number of specialized treatment programs operated by an effective team of more than 1,400 employees in 50 locations across 10 states and the District of Columbia. Youth Villages' mission is to help children and families live successfully.

• In Mr. Lawler's 27-year tenure as CEO, Youth Villages has grown from serving 40 youth to providing treatment, education and specialized programs to more than 14,000 boys and girls each year. The area of service has expanded from Shelby County, Tenn., to all counties in Tennessee, as well as Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
• Mr. Lawler collaborated with the state of Tennessee's Department of Children Services to establish the Youth Villages Continuum of Care. This nationally recognized program has become a model for other states interested in reforming their systems of care.
• In 2005, Youth Villages was selected by Edna McConnell Clark Foundation to receive support for business planning after a comprehensive review of the organization, including the quality of its programs, depth of leadership, financial strength and commitment to using data to assess its programs and make ongoing improvements. Upon completion of the planning process, Youth Villages received a second grant from EMCF for $6 million to help the organization implement the plan.
• In 2006, Mr. Lawler was recognized as one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report in conjunction with the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University. He also is one of the select few professionals in the nonprofit sector who have been inducted into the prestigious Society of Entrepreneurs. Under his leadership, Youth Villages gained national recognition and was cited as a model by such prominent organizations as the American Youth Policy Forum, National Coalition of Juvenile Justice and the United Way of America.

Mr. Lawler's entire career has been spent working with society's most vulnerable children. He began as a counselor at Tall Trees Guidance School and then served the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County in the positions of probation counselor, intake counselor and detention monitor prior to his appointment as CEO of Youth Villages.

ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Chairman of the Diocesan Review Board -- Catholic Diocese, 2007; board member of St. Francis Hospital in Bartlett, Tenn., the Bank of Bartlett and the American Re-Education Association; member of the Child Welfare League of America National Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice in 2005 and the Governor's Transition Team, state of Tennessee in 2003

EDUCATION

MS, Memphis State University, Counseling, 1981
BA, Memphis State University, Criminal Justice, 1977

PERSONAL

Running, biking, reading, learning Spanish and annually serving as a missionary in Honduras.