Paul G. Thelen works at the intersection of nonprofit leadership, strategy, and public policy as Director of the Larned A. Waterman Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center at the University of Iowa College of Law. For more than a decade, he has advised thousands of nonprofit organizations of all sizes—from newly imagined initiatives to well-established entities—helping executives and board members strengthen compliance, governance, organizational capacity, and strategic decision-making. 

By far Paul’s greatest superpower is collaboration. These relationships make it possible to amplify the Center’s impact to co-produce the state’s largest annual conference for nonprofit leaders—the Iowa Nonprofit Summit—dozens of workshops with community foundations and public partners; a bi-annual salary and benefits survey with a peer state association; continuing legal education sessions; and the Center’s client projects focused on capacity building, executive performance reviews, strategic planning, succession planning, board development, and additional services. 

Paul is co-founder and current Secretary of the Iowa Nonprofit Alliance—a statewide nonprofit membership association focused on advocating for Iowa’s charitable sector by engaging with policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels. Recent examples of Paul’s work include leading a plenary session with local leaders at the 2024 Iowa Nonprofit Summit; legislative receptions in Des Moines; and joining dozens of peer organizations from across the country each year for advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C.

At the College of Law, Paul teaches two popular courses on nonprofit organizations, focusing on structure, governance, strategy, advocacy, collaboration, and fundraising. One of his favorite pedagogical practices is to invite outstanding guests to the classroom, including distinguished alumni and leaders from across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. He serves on the Advisory Board for the University’s School of Planning and Public Affairs and is a member of the Iowa Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education.

Paul was raised on his family’s farm in rural western Iowa and is a first-generation college graduate. He earned a BA and BFA summa cum laude from Creighton University and a JD with distinction from the Iowa College of Law. Paul spent his two law school summers as a counselor for a nationwide law school preparation program for college students with backgrounds historically underrepresented in the law. He has also completed doctoral work (ABD) at Northwestern University where he was a two-year Fellow at the Center for Leadership and a Graduate Mentor at the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching.

Prior to his academic and advocacy focus, Paul was an artist. He was a Bill Bailey Debut Award winner at the Omaha Community Playhouse—the largest community playhouse in the United States—and has performed at such venerable venues as the Ohio Theatre in Columbus, the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, and the Fox Theatre in St. Louis. 

Paul is the 2024 recipient of the David J. Skorton Award for Staff Excellence in Service to the University of Iowa.