Who is Girls Auto Clinic?

Girls Auto Clinic is the lead company changing the conversation around women and their vehicles.

Girls Auto Clinic (GAC) was founded in 2013 by Patrice Banks, a trailblazing entrepreneur in the automotive industry. As a Black woman-owned and operated business, GAC is dedicated to transforming the automotive experience for women. We build tools and foster engagement to empower women—our SHECANICS—to take ownership of their automotive journeys with knowledge and confidence. Our mission is to create an industry where women feel fully equipped to purchase and manage their vehicles while also increasing the representation of women who thrive and find joy working in automotive careers.

Patrice’s journey began with teaching car care workshops in the Philadelphia area, delivering an inspiring TEDx talk, and writing a car care guide specifically for women. In January 2017, she took her mission a step further by opening The Girls Auto Clinic Repair Center, a full-service auto repair shop staffed by women mechanics. True to its customer-centric vision, the shop also features a nail salon where customers can relax while their cars are serviced.

Since its founding, Girls Auto Clinic has grown from a local initiative into an internationally recognized force in the automotive and women’s empowerment sectors, redefining what it means to drive change—for women, by women.

Why Women?

It’s no secret that many women approach automotive buying and repair experiences with fear and frustration. Feeling misunderstood, taken advantage of, or mistreated is all too common. To make matters worse, resources to ease their concerns, anxiety, and anger are scarce—despite the fact that women make up more than half of the automotive industry’s customer base, spending $200 billion annually on purchasing and repairing vehicles.

Patrice Banks, founder of Girls Auto Clinic, was once one of these women. A self-proclaimed “auto airhead®,” she understands firsthand the challenges women face in navigating automotive care. Recognizing the tremendous influence and power women hold in today’s market, she set out to create a business model that empowers women and fulfills a critical need for millions of female drivers.

Girls Auto Clinic is changing the narrative, creating a space where women feel confident, respected, and in control of their automotive experiences.

Patrice Banks is a highly engaging, intelligent, funny, candid, and trusted leader. She is shaking up the male-dominated automotive industry with her inspiring story of going from auto airhead to creating a business whose mission is to educate and empower women through their cars.

Women are the #1 customer in the auto industry, and Patrice inspires them to become #SHECANICS, confident, educated drivers and smart consumers!

Banks once dreaded both car buying and repairs. Unhappy with her experiences and unable to find any solutions to her car problems, she left her career as an engineer, enrolled in an automotive technology school, and created a unique business model - auto repair catering to women.

Patrice Banks and Girls Auto Clinic have been recognized by numerous media outlets such as NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Washington Post, TIME, Good Morning America, Glamour, Car & Driver, to name a few. She graces the cover of People Magazine and Ratchet and Wrench. Patrice has partnered with Ford, Dell, Honda, and Girls Scouts, is a TEDx speaker, and was featured in a national commercial with Lean Cuisine and Ford. She is a founding member of Women of Color Automotive Network.

Banks graduated from Lehigh University with a BS in Materials Engineering, where she was a Varsity Rower. She was awarded Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year by the Lehigh University Alumni Association in 2019. She is the author of Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide. Patrice is working as a producer with Warner Bros and Elizabeth Banks’ Brownstone Production to create a scripted comedy series about Girls Auto Clinic.

Watch Patrice’s TedX Talk from 2015 sharing her vision of Girls Auto Clinic.