Executive Fellows in Mission Programs
Saint Joseph’s University’s Executive Fellows in Mission Programs draws on the expertise of top nonprofit leaders to mentor students in human-thriving work while deepening the University’s partnerships with community-based organizations.
The inaugural Executive Fellows in Mission Programs, Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M., BS ’76, H ’88, and Joan Dawson McConnon, H ’24, are the co-founders of Project HOME, an organization that empowers individuals to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, and to live their fullest potential. Having led the nonprofit for 35 years, the pair will continue their mission of uplifting underrepresented communities at Saint Joseph’s.
Community Partners
The executive fellows are working to enhance the University’s efforts with community-based nonprofits through University programs such as the Institute for Clinical Bioethics and the Faith-Justice Institute. Below is a sampling of community partners.
- Covenant House
- Hub of Hope
- Joyce’s Place
- The Learning Center
- Mother of Mercy House
- Project HOME
We’re trying to build relationships, share knowledge and best practices, and build capacity through the lens of a nonprofit. It’s about building connections, and sometimes they happen in the smallest way."
![Joan Dawson McConnon]()
Joan Dawson McConnon, H ’24
Project HOME Co-Founders Return to Saint Joseph’s as Inaugural Mission Fellows
After stepping down from their leadership roles at Project HOME, alumnae Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M., BS ’76, H ’88, and Joan Dawson McConnon, H ’24, were named Saint Joseph’s inaugural Executive Fellows in Mission Programs.
Support the Mission Fellows
The Executive Fellows in Mission Programs are endowed positions funded by supporters of the nonprofit leaders’ work and the University’s Jesuit mission of social justice and engaged citizenship. Your support will further amplify the University’s work of uplifting underrepresented communities.
About the Executive Fellows in Mission Programs
In 1989, Sister Mary Scullion, R.S.M., BS ’76, H ’88, and Joan Dawson McConnon, H ’24, co-founded Project HOME through a shared vision that every individual has dignity and deserves a safe, welcoming place to live. The nonprofit empowers adults, children and families to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty, to alleviate the underlying causes of poverty, and to enable everyone to attain their fullest potential as individuals and as members of the broader society.
Since the founding of Project HOME in 1989, the 501(c)(3) has grown from a day shelter program in a community center into nearly 1,000 housing units and two businesses that provide employment to formerly homeless persons. The organization is widely acclaimed for its multifaceted approach to keeping people housed, including community-based health services, mental health and addiction treatment, adult education and after-school programs, employment programs at Project HOME’s social enterprises, and an alumni program.
In recognition of their work, both S. Mary and Dawson McConnon are recipients of numerous awards, including the Philadelphia Citizen Lifetime Achievement Award and The University of Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal. Their work has been recognized by The New York Times as “a national model to end homelessness,” and their Project HOME leadership has been declared as one of the 16 most efficient and innovative nonprofits ever known by The Philanthropy Roundtable.
The pair stepped down from their leadership roles as co-founders of Project HOME in December of 2024. Being at Saint Joseph’s is a homecoming for both Sr. Scullion and Dawson McConnon. Sr. Scullion is a graduate of the Class of 1976 and a former member of the University’s Board of Trustees. A current adjunct professor of accounting, Dawson McConnon is also the parent of two Saint Joseph’s graduates and the spouse of an alumnus. Both Project HOME co-founders are recipients of honorary degrees from the University.