--- title: BoardSource Blog - The Leader in Nonprofit Board Governance | Patricia Q. Connolly description: Patricia Q. Connolly is executive director of Drexel University’s Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute and has notable success guiding discussions on how to lead and govern in the 21st century. Her background is a rare blend of corporate and nonprofit leadership. During her early career, she advanced through a series of positions at PNC Financial Corp, a financial services firm, culminating with her role as vice president for its retail and private banking group. Patricia then applied her business acumen to the nonprofit sector, holding executive roles at prominent institutions such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Since 2008, she has served as executive director for Drexel University’s Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute. Although situated in the academic arena, she has been heavily involved with the for-profit and nonprofit sectors while consulting various boards of directors. She enjoys the chance to guide companies through pivotal decisions and periods of major change. --- ![Blog-0216.jpg](https://blog.boardsource.org/hs-fs/hubfs/blog_photos/Blog-0216.jpg?width=1400&name=Blog-0216.jpg "Blog-0216.jpg") [![Blog-header-logo.png](https://blog.boardsource.org/hs-fs/hubfs/blog_photos/Blog-header-logo.png?width=360&name=Blog-header-logo.png "Blog-header-logo.png")](https://boardsource.org) [Back to blog homepage](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog) ## Patricia Q. Connolly Patricia Q. Connolly is executive director of Drexel University’s Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute and has notable success guiding discussions on how to lead and govern in the 21st century. Her background is a rare blend of corporate and nonprofit leadership. During her early career, she advanced through a series of positions at PNC Financial Corp, a financial services firm, culminating with her role as vice president for its retail and private banking group. Patricia then applied her business acumen to the nonprofit sector, holding executive roles at prominent institutions such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Since 2008, she has served as executive director for Drexel University’s Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute. Although situated in the academic arena, she has been heavily involved with the for-profit and nonprofit sectors while consulting various boards of directors. She enjoys the chance to guide companies through pivotal decisions and periods of major change. [![](https://blog.boardsource.org/hubfs/Blog-Alliance.png)](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/the-strategic-alliances-of-nonprofits) ## [The Strategic Alliances of Nonprofits](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/the-strategic-alliances-of-nonprofits) Posted by [Patricia Q. Connolly](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/patricia-q-connolly) on Jan 2, 2026, 10:00:00 AM This blog post was originally written in February 19, 2020 by Patricia Q. Connolly and has been modified and updated. ## Why Strategic Alliances Matter  The nonprofit sector is facing tremendous challenges, as demands for services grow while funding declines. This could lead to devastating... [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/the-strategic-alliances-of-nonprofits) Topics: [strategic partnerships](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/strategic-partnerships) [![Red ](https://blog.boardsource.org/hubfs/Blog-Due-Diligence.jpg)](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/nonprofits-due-for-due-diligence) ## [Nonprofits: Due for Due Diligence](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/nonprofits-due-for-due-diligence) Posted by [Patricia Q. Connolly](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/patricia-q-connolly) on May 8, 2019, 12:36:29 PM If you were approached to invest in a business, a major part of your decision making process would include doing your due diligence. In addition to conducting a preliminary financial review, you would look at the market, competition, and the company’s governance structure. You would also examine... [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/nonprofits-due-for-due-diligence) Topics: [similarities in for-profits and nonprofits](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/similarities-in-for-profits-and-nonprofits) [![Blog-language](https://blog.boardsource.org/hubfs/blog_photos/Blog-language.jpg)](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/using-for-profit-language-in-the-nonprofit-world) ## [Using For-Profit Language to Think Differently About Nonprofits](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/using-for-profit-language-in-the-nonprofit-world) Posted by [Patricia Q. Connolly](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/author/patricia-q-connolly) on Jun 6, 2018, 12:26:11 PM Nonprofits face many challenges today that are unique to the sector, with fundraising being one that immediately comes to mind. But nonprofit organizations are not necessarily as different from their for-profit counterparts as one might think; both require strong governance and oversight to... [more](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/using-for-profit-language-in-the-nonprofit-world) Topics: [similarities in for-profits and nonprofits](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/topic/similarities-in-for-profits-and-nonprofits) [All posts](https://blog.boardsource.org/blog/all) ### Recent Posts Search this site on Google Search BoardSource   1050 Connecticut Ave NW, PO Box 65001  Washington,  DC   20036   US [![14](https://blog.boardsource.org/hs-fs/hubfs/14.png?width=37&height=37&name=14.png)](https://www.facebook.com/BoardSource/)  [![15](https://blog.boardsource.org/hs-fs/hubfs/15.png?width=37&height=37&name=15.png)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/boardsource) [![13](https://blog.boardsource.org/hs-fs/hubfs/13.png?width=37&height=37&name=13.png)](https://www.youtube.com/user/BoardSourceVideo) [Privacy Policy](https://boardsource.org/privacy-policy/)     |     [Acceptable Use](https://boardsource.org/terms-of-use/) © Copyright BoardSource