Officer Position: Secretary
Dianne Morales is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Phipps Neighborhoods. She is responsible for the overall organizational management and has led the organization through a change process that has resulted in growth from a $17 million to a $24 million, multi-service agency helping almost 10,000 children, youth, and families overcome poverty.
An expert in education, workforce, and youth development issues, Dianne has a wealth of experience in strategy, policy, and organizational development as well as executive management. Prior to joining Phipps Neighborhoods, Dianne served as Executive Director of The Door, one of NYC’s premier youth development organizations, where she increased enrollment from 7,000 to over 11,000 at-risk young people accessing services. She has spent over 20 years in program start-up, including the initial implementation of the NYC Department of Education’s Office of Youth Development and School-Community Services under Chancellor Joel Klein, the launching of The Teaching Commission, and the development of Jumpstart, a national early childhood non-profit organization.
Dianne is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for JobsFirstNYC and the Human Services Council. In the summer of 2014, she was appointed to serve on the New York City Community Schools Advisory Board, created by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to advise on the implementation of his Community Schools Initiative. In 2015 she was appointed to the Human Services Council Commission to Examine Nonprofit Organization Closures. The Commission published “New York Nonprofits in the Aftermath of FEGS: A Call to Action,” a report on the investigation, findings, and recommendations related to the pervasive issues impacting the operating capacity of the sector.
In 2013 the Network for Social Management recognized Dianne for demonstrating exemplary performance for the public good. In 2014 she was recognized by the NYC Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as an exceptional Hispanic woman who has contributed to expanding business within the Hispanic Community and protecting the public interest. More recently, Dianne has been recognized by Hispanic Lifestyle as a 2015 “Latina of Influence” and by the Latino Social Work Task Force for her significant dedication and commitment to improving access and quality of service to the Latino community.
Dianne is a Latina who grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and has focused her life on supporting communities in creating sustainable change for social and economic justice. Dianne has earned graduate degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Columbia University, as well as a Bachelor’s in psychology from the State University of New York in Stony Brook.
