Gabriella Morris

The Prudential Foundation (retired)

“The Trust intends to be a beacon of effective capacity building, and elevate what works in education in Newark.”

Gabriella E. Morris is the former president of The Prudential Foundation and former corporate vice president of the Community Resources unit of Prudential Insurance Company of America. In these positions, she directed all aspects of Prudential’s interface with communities and national and international philanthropies and non-profits by coordinating and leveraging company resources.

To this end, she has overseen grant-making and corporate contributions; Prudential’s social investment portfolio; employee volunteerism and community relations; and business diversity outreach.  Through her leadership, Prudential has made significant contributions to education reform, youth leadership and economic development.

Ms. Morris joined Prudential in 1985 as an associate regional counsel for the company's Newark Realty Group Office (NRGO), which manages Prudential’s real estate investment activity in the eastern region of the country.  After various assignments in corporate and regional real estate law, she assumed her position as president in April 1994.  Prior to Prudential, Morris was an attorney in the law firm of Baker & Botts in Houston, Texas and for The Southland Corporation in Dallas, where she specialized in corporate and real estate law.

Ms. Morris serves on the board of trustees of the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority (NJPBA), the Women’s Board of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, United States Artists, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the New Jersey Network Foundation Board and Brick City Development Corporation.

Ms. Morris has an A.B. degree in architecture and urban planning and a certification in African American studies from Princeton University and a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.