Youth Program Coordinator

mac@affcny.org | 607.272.0034 

McDonald Mandela Morris began working with the Coalition in November of 2018 after attending a support group for adult adoptees in Ithaca. Astonished by a trauma-informed approach to the support group, Mac made it his mission to learn more about the coalition and how he could connect with their mission.  

His work experience spans youth education and LGBTQ organizing, camp based work, as both a teaching artist, camp counselor and program director – all in the not for profit world. He holds certifications in both Lifeguarding and Water Safety Instruction.

McDonald is currently an active board member of a non-profit grassroots organization that provides race and cultural awareness trainings, transitional planning and programs for racially marginalized populations in Ithaca. He works in youth development and programming with the Coalition as their Youth Programming Coordinator.

With a degree in creative writing and philosophy, his disciplinary focus, writings and performance have been on psycho-socio-political voyaging, trauma and recovery, somatic awareness, and kinesthetic play with an analysis of Race, Gender, Class and Sexuality as a foundation.

Born in Harlem and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Mac is an adult adoptee, black queer performance artist, educator and movement enthusiast now based in Ithaca. His artistic, professional and philanthropic work emphasizes critical-consciousness and love as essential ingredients for empowerment, positive transformation, and optimal well-being. Despite a serious bio, he loves to laugh and kids of all ages are drawn to him, as well as birds, dogs, cats, and his handsome partner whom he loves dearly!