Crowley, Patricia

Born May 13, 1939, Chicago, Illinois. Patricia A. Crowley was born on May 13, 1939 in Chicago, the oldest daughter of Patrick and Patricia C. Crowley, founders of the Christian Family Movement. She became a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago in 1958, and went on to receive her B.A in 1965 from Mundelein College at Loyola University and in 1970 her M.A. in Catechetical Theology from Manhattan College. She taught at St. Scholastica Academy until 1979 when she began her social service work in community and homelessness initiative at Howard Area Community Center where she was the Executive Director for ten years. In 1991, after spending two years traveling abroad in Central America studying how poor women organize themselves politically, she began her thirteen year tenure at Deborah's Place as Executive Director, a not for profit organization that offers support and housing to homeless women in Chicago. She also served as Executive Director for the Chicago Continuum of Care and served during the consolidation with the Partnership to End Homelessness in Chicago. Over time Crowley received numerous awards for her dedication and work in the initiative to end homelessness and awareness of the prison system and its contribution to homelessness.