Urban League of Philadelphia CEO Pat Coulter to step down, effective December 2014

 
PHILADELPHIA - Dec. 11, 2013 - PRLog -- Media Contact:

Nadine Bonner

215-985-3220   ext. 211          /cell: 267-242-5874

nbonner@urbanleaguephila.org

(PHILADELPHIA- December 5, 2013) The Board of Directors of The Urban League of Philadelphia http://urbanleaguephila.org (ULP) announced today that its President and CEO, Patricia A. Coulter, will be concluding her dynamic 12 years of leadership at ULP, effective December, 2014.

“I can proudly say that I am leaving a stronger, more effective Urban League,” said Ms. Coulter. “With the support of my outstanding and committed board of directors and a talented hard-working staff, we have been able to reinvigorate the Philadelphia affiliate. Now I believe it is time to step aside and bring a new vision that will sustain the League’s mission for Philadelphia.”

The ULP is the Philadelphia affiliate of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, the National Urban League. Upon taking the reins in 2002, Ms. Coulter became the first woman to lead the 90-year old affiliate.

Under Ms. Coulter’s direction, ULP has been named a five-star affiliate three years in a row – one of only a handful of the organization’s 95 affiliates to be singled out for the strength of their economic base and for their programming.

“While she will be sadly missed, I think we will all look back on her 11 plus  years and see she has been a great leader and advocate for the Urban League,” said Robert J. Keyes, chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager/VP of Enterprise Holdings (http://www.enterpriseholdings.com/) Philadelphia Group. “The number of people that she has helped achieve a better life will be her legacy. She has made an impact on Philadelphia and has given a whole lot more than she received.”

Former board chair Michael Rashid, CEO of AmeriHealth Caritas (http://www.amerihealthcaritas.com/) commented, “It was a pleasure to work with Pat Coulter during her tenure at the Philadelphia Urban League. She took the Urban League from 2nd and Girard to Center City, and she helped the organization present a more professional image to the business community.

“Pat is extremely skilled at building relationships that moved the organization forward, and she has been a passionate advocate for everything the Urban League stands for. She leaves big shoes to fill, and we will miss her.”

Ms. Coulter’s first plan of action was to put the Urban League on a sound financial footing by selling its building in North Philadelphia and moving the corporate offices to Center City. The central location made it easier for the ULP to attract clients and to create relationships with the business community which underwrites many of its programs.

“I can remember my first meeting with Pat as the new president,” recalls Bill Ribble, the former UPS (http://www.ups.com/) executive who chaired the ULP board in 2002. “She made it clear that she was passionate about advancing the Urban League's position in Philadelphia. At the Urban League Conference held in Los Angeles that July, Pat networked with other Urban League presidents to learn ‘best practices’ for connecting with local businesses. She tirelessly attended each workshop held from early morning till late in the evening to learn all she could about the Urban League culture. By the end of the conference, Pat was ready to return to Philadelphia and become a change agent.”

As part of that change, Ms. Coulter recruited corporate leaders for the ULP board.

“One of Pat’s biggest accomplishments was strengthening the board with senior level business leaders,” said Otha “Skip” Spriggs, the former Cigna (http://www.cigna.com/) executive who served as chairman of the ULP board from 2006 to 2009 “It is a testament to Pat’s ability to recruit people who could make financial decisions. Even during a period of slow economic growth, we flourished as an organization.”

Job creation has long been a tenet of the Urban League movement, and Ms. Coulter spearheaded the creation of ULP’s Career Center. Today, the Career Center serves more than 500 people a year, providing job training, coaching, interviewing and other services for job seekers free of charge. The ULP’s Connect to Work program – a six-week class that prepares students to work in the customer service industry – has placed 87 percent of its graduates in jobs before the end of the course.

To complement the Career Center, in 2008, ULP opened an Entrepreneurship Center to help small businesses grow and thrive. The Entrepreneurship Center serves 500 clients. As these businesses expand, they are able to hire new workers, thus supporting job creation.

The ULP offers counseling to first time homebuyers and to homeowners facing foreclosure. The housing department counsels about 600 clients each year. In 2012, counselors saved 92 homes from foreclosure.

Under Ms. Coulter’s leadership, the ULP began a scholarship program in 2002 – awarding $12,000 to six students. In 2013, the ULP awarded $120,000 to 64 students at its Empowerment Gala and Scholarship Awards Dinner. The scholarship program has expanded its outreach to young people by offering workshops in financial planning and effective social media. This year, ULP will be holding its first internship fair, offering our scholarship students the opportunity to meet representatives of the region’s top corporations.

As a civic leader in the Philadelphia community, Ms. Coulter serves on various non-profit boards and associations. She is an executive committee member of The Free Library of Philadelphia, and recently rotated off the executive committee of the Philadelphia Education Fund after 10 years. She serves on the board of the Eagles Youth Partnership, Thomas Jefferson University, the Philadelphia Foundation, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of Trustees of Bright Hope Baptist Church. She has been appointed by Mayor Michael Nutter to the Philadelphia Council for College and Career Success, and the Office of Economic Opportunity’s Advisory Board. She is a founding member of the Philadelphia African American Leadership Forum, The Forum for a Better Pennsylvania, and Philadelphia Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

She completed the Harvard Business School’s Strategic Perspectives in Non Profit Management, and she holds an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, (D.H.L.) degree from Peirce College, Philadelphia, PA., a Masters, (M. Ed) degree in Education from the University of Louisville, and a Bachelor of Science, (BS) degree in music from Knoxville College.

The Board of Directors has formed a search committee to interview prospective candidates with the goal of selecting a new CEO in early spring. The committee is in the process of evaluating proposals from executive search consultants. Ms. Coulter will remain with the organization for a transition period to assist the new CEO through end of next year.

Media Contact
The Urban League of Philadelphia
nbonner@urbanleaguephila.org
12159853220211
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