Patrick W. Lawler

Patrick W. Lawler is chief executive officer of Youth Villages, one of the largest private providers of services to troubled children and their families in the country. Under his leadership, Youth Villages has established an array of specialized treatment programs operated by an effective team of more than 3,000 employees and services across 16 states. Youth Villages’ mission is to help children and families live successfully.

Since 1980, Mr. Lawler has served as CEO of Youth Villages, which has grown from serving 25 youth daily to 4,600, offering hope to more than 26,000 children and families each year. With an emphasis on the importance of family, program intensity, outcome measurement, community-based services and being accountable to families and funders, Youth Villages’ area of service has expanded across Tennessee, and to Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Georgia, Indiana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Most recently, the organization embarked on an innovative partnerships approach to increase available access to Youth Villages intensive program for young adults aging out of foster care, YVLifeSet. In addition to direct care services in current locations, YVLifeSet is now offered by high-quality partners in jurisdictions in Washington, Pennsylvania and New York. 

In 2006, U.S. News & World Report recognized Mr. Lawler as one of “America’s Best Leaders” in conjunction with the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

In 2009, Harvard Business School completed a case study examining Youth Villages’ growth and impact, and exploring the organization’s innovative treatment approach, use of research in program development and targeted growth strategies. The case was written for inclusion in an HBS course called “Leading and Governing Highly Effective Nonprofit Organizations,” which teaches what it takes to be an organization that does innovative and highly effective work. Mr. Lawler is a frequent guest lecturer at Harvard Business School and Columbia University about the Youth Villages approach.

Also in 2009, the White House cited Youth Villages as an example of “effective, innovative non-profits” that are “high-impact, result-oriented” organizations. The White House listed Youth Villages with three other organizations that offer “promising ideas that are transforming communities.”

Mr. Lawler’s entire career has been spent working with society’s most vulnerable children and young adults. He began as a counselor at Tall Trees Guidance School when he was 18 years old and then worked at the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County for five years before becoming CEO of Youth Villages.