Patrick Conners has stepped down as Quaker Valley Council of Governments’ executive director to start the new year in the same role for South Hills Area Council of Governments.
Conners, 33, of Whitehall, served as QVCOG head since May 2021. He took over for Susan Hockenberry.
“It’s a once in a career opportunity,” Conners said of his new role. “They have great communities and it’s a little closer to home. The number of communities is not too different, but the size of the communities is going to be the big thing. You have a lot more sprawling, highly densely populated communities in the South Hills.”
QVCOG has 17 member communities serving about 31,000 residents.
SHACOG has 23 member communities serving more than 316,000 residents.
Shoes to fill
SHACOG was led by Stanley Lou Gorski for about 35 years. He passed away Aug. 6 after a long battle with cancer. He was 77.
John Trant of Strategic Solutions filled in as interim SHACOG executive director following Gorski’s passing.
Gorski, a Central Catholic grad and retired Army major, earned degrees in political science and public administration from the University of Pittsburgh. He also served as Dormont borough manager for 14 years.
Conners said COG directors meet multiple times a year and he learned a lot from Gorski.
“He was in that position for over three decades and he was a wealth of information,” Conners said. “Every time that we were together as a group, he would always be able to give you the background on whatever the case might be. Give you some historical insights on why things are the way they are in the world of COGs or municipal government or Allegheny County in general.
“I’m really thankful I got a chance to work with him in those four plus years as a colleague. Obviously, he’s going to be greatly missed in the COG world. It’s going to be some big shoes to fill, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to do so.”
Conners’ QVCOG salary was $86,000. His new salary is $105,000.
Conners’ background
Conners, a Democrat, successfully ran for Whitehall council last year.
However, he has decided to relinquish the seat since the borough is a SHACOG member.
Conners said he wanted to make a difference in his community and had entered the political race before the SHACOG job was available.
“I wanted to serve all 23 communities equally, and it would have been a little difficult to serve as Whitehall council,” Conners said.
Conners grew up in Belle Vernon, Westmoreland County, and graduated from Belle Vernon Area High School in 2010.
He has a master’s in public administration with a concentration in public and nonprofit management from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s with concentrations in history and political science from California University of Pennsylvania, now called Penn West, California.
Conners credits his CALU academic advisor Joseph Heim for directing him toward municipal management.
“He thought with my skill set it would be a profession I’d be into,” Conners said. “That wasn’t necessary the path I’d take — it was teaching or something else.”
Julie Barnes, QVCOG board president and Sewickley council vice president, said Conners was instrumental in getting multiple grants for member communities and was an excellent communicator.
“The importance of sharing ideas and sharing problem solving skills is really high when you have so many small neighborhoods,” Barnes said. “It makes sense to have people working together and learning together rather than going it alone.
“We share and we connect, and it makes it easier for us to work together on things. Patrick was very organized and he helped streamline and organize all the operations of the COG.”
Barnes also highlighted Conners’ service to the Local Government Academy and Congress of Neighboring Communities, which broadened the scope of programs QVCOG was able to get involved with.
“I’m grateful for Patrick’s service to our COG and I’m excited for him and his new opportunity,” Barnes said.
One of the major COG accomplishments under Conners’ watch was the addition of two new boroughs expanding community membership from 15 to 17.
Sewickley Hills and Ben Avon Heights both joined in 2025.
Conners’ last QVCOG meeting was Dec. 17 at Sewickley Public Library. His last official day in Quaker Valley was Jan. 2. He started at SHACOG on Jan. 6.
“You always take a chance when you hire somebody, and you hope that the organization is successful in that choice,” Conners said. “I hope that people think that over the last five years we’ve had some pretty good successes. Good programs, good partnerships, brought a lot of grant money into out communities and I just want to thank them all for being great partners.”
Delegates thanked Conners for his service and approved several actions to begin searching for his replacement.
They included appointing Verona borough manager Jason Dailey as interim director and partnering with his business, Dailey Operation Consulting, for recruitment.
Dailey last year handled the Fox Chapel borough manager search and is nearing the end of that town’s police chief search.
Delegates also formed a hiring committee consisting of Barnes, Leetsdale council president Maria Napolitano, Ben Avon council president Rick Wagner, Edgeworth borough manager Ellen Politi and Bellevue borough manager Jim Kelly.
Barnes said she wants candidates to be self-driven, social, personable and good at connecting people with each other.
Applications are due by the end of January. Those interested may submit resumes to executivedirector@qvcog.org.
Further details about the executive director search will be posted on QVCOG.org.
The hope is to have finalists selected in February and the full delegation to make its selection in March.
Dailey worked with Conners the last few weeks of the year as part of the transition.
“He’s really made a big impression there in a short period of time,” Dailey said. “That position is a unique position.
“The fact that it’s really a one-person, director position, you’re not only working with these communities in the Quaker Valley as their prime contact for the COG, but you’re also doing the bill paying, the account management, fielding phone calls. You’re doing all of it. It’s a very hands-on grass-roots position. Patrick has done a great job with that. He’s going to do very well for SHACOG and continue to make a difference down there.”
One of the issues the new QVCOG director will have to deal with is negotiating a new joint garbage contract. The current contracted hauler is Waste Management. Its five-year contract expires at the end of this year. COG members will have the option to opt into the potential agreement. Some municipalities, like Leetsdale, collect their own trash.