David J. Morris

Policy visionary, community advocate, and clear-eyed writer, David Morris died on June 11, 2025 in Northern California. He was 79. Born in New York City, David earned degrees from Cornell University, the University of Florida, and Union Graduate School, where he completed a Ph.D. in Public Policy.

David is known for his ground-breaking work on a host of issues. His early work took him to Latin America during Salvador Allende's presidency. A first-hand view of Chile's political transformation shaped his enduring belief in justice, equity, and local self-determination. In 1973 he published his first book, "We Must Make Haste — Slowly" based on his experience in Chile. As a writer, David had a rare gift for making complex policy ideas accessible, urgent, and inspiring. He was the author of four more books and hundreds of essays in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The American Prospect. For eleven years he was a political columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and was cited by The Utne Reader as one of the nation's "100 Best Visionary Thinkers" and a "modern day Benjamin Franklin." Bill Moyers called David "one of the most innovative thinkers in the country."

In 1974, David co-founded the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), a Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis-based think tank that, over the past fifty years, has helped lay the foundation for now-commonplace notions including green energy and community broadband, as well as countless innovative policy proposals designed to challenge corporate concentration and build local power. For more than five decades, he served as the Institute's vice president, strategist, and public voice. He often led with this guiding framework: "We make the rules and the rules make us." David was equally revered as a friend and mentor—demanding, generous, and deeply loyal. His friends recall a warm, often funny conversationalist and a tenacious tennis player. David loved political debate, a well-reasoned argument, and above all, ideas that could build a more just, equitable and sustainable planet.

David Jonathan Morris is survived by his loving family: wife Harriet, stepchildren Toby Barlow and Allison Barlow, two siblings, and four grandchildren, as well as a wide circle of friends, collaborators, and admirers who carry on his important work. He will be remembered for his clarity of thought, granite integrity, warm hugs, and his relentless belief that communities – when empowered with the proper tools, rights, and information – can govern themselves wisely and well.

A memorial gathering will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance at ilsr.org.