In Remembrance of Patricia A. Coulter, Former Urban League CEO

Patricia A. Coulter, former president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA), passed away on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. She was 78.

She was raised in Cleveland and moved to Philadelphia in the early 1980s.

She received a bachelor's degree in music from Knoxville College and a master's in education from the University of Louisville.

In 2002, she became the first woman to lead the Philadelphia affiliate of the National Urban League in its 90-year history.

One of just a few of the organization's 92 affiliates to be singled out for the quality of its programming and economic foundation, the Urban League of Philadelphia was recognized as a five-star affiliate three years in a row under Coulter's leadership.

"Patricia A. Coulter has made history through her leadership at ULP," the organization said in a tribute. "She has shown future Black leaders what is possible when you foster relationships, deepen roots, ask those who came before you and stay humble." 

Before taking over the Urban League, Coulter was an executive search specialist with the Salveson Stetson Group in Radnor. She was formerly employed in human resources at the career and talent management company Lee Hecht Harrison in Philadelphia.

As a civic leader in the Philadelphia community, she served on a number of non-profit boards and associations, such as the Eagles Youth Partnership, the Philadelphia Education Fund and the board of trustees of Bright Hope Baptist Church.

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