Pillar and Community Advocate
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Asociación Puertorriqueňos En Marcha, Inc. (APM), a Human Services and Community Development nonprofit, today is deeply saddened by the passing of one of its greatest supporters and cheerleaders, board member Dean Morris, Esq.
Morris was an accomplished hold-no-prisoners type of lawyer. He was highly sought after for his intelligence and persistence to get things accomplished. In addition to his successful career, he was an exemplary community advocate who helped catapult crucial programming and services in the very neighborhood where he grew up. The executive visibility and humility he triumphantly displayed will forever be etched in the lives of the people he touched.
He was a coach to Nilda Ruiz, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of APM – always pushing for the betterment of our neighborhood, cultural identity, and was a highly engaged member of APM’s board of directors. His work is particularly notable to APM during the planning of Paseo Verde, a Green Transient Oriented Development and the greenest building in Philadelphia with a triple LEED certification. “This building sits as a beacon of hope in our neighborhood and would have never happened without Dean’s leadership and influence on the PHFA board. He was insistent that the Transient Orient Development was important and made it a part of the point system, which helped bring awareness to transportation as a social determinate of health, and were the points that helped APM win in a very competitive process” said Nilda Ruiz. “I will forever be grateful; he will never be forgotten, may he rest in peace”.
“They only made one Dean Morris”. Said Pelayo Coll, Esq, Board Chair, APM. “He was a mentor to many in the City Of Philadelphia and his work will continue to make an impact in the lives he touched”.
APM sends its deepest condolences to the Morris family. We are forever grateful to Dean and his unwavering tenacity.
Learn more about Dean Morris’s legacy:
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/inquirer/name/morris-dean-obituary?id=36353433
About APM
APM is a Latino based nonprofit serving the community since the 1970’s. APM serves 40,000 Philadelphians annually, operates on a combined budget of more than $65 million, employs 400 multilingual, skilled and dedicated professionals and offers an extensive range of bilingual and culturally sensitive services at 13 sites throughout North Philadelphia and Montgomery County. Our programs include affordable housing, food security, employment assistance, early childhood education and daycare, foster care and adoption, substance abuse treatment and behavioral health for adults.
About APM
Contact: Emily Cordero, Director of Communications
Asociación Puertorriquenos En Marcha (APM)
1900 N. 9th St.
Philadelphia, PA 19122
Office: 1-267-296-7350
Cell: 1-267-255-7625
Email: Emily.Cordero@apmphila.org
Website: https://apmphila.org
