Evelyn Morales has collaborated with Poverello for over 20 years in the various roles that she has held in South Florida in support of the HIV/AIDS/STD/Hepatitis communities.  In 2017, while confronted with her own Cancer battle, she experienced firsthand the many services that Poverello provides as a client.  With her Cancer fight behind her, she has picked up where she left off as an ardent cheerleader for Poverello in her new role at Care Resource.

Evelyn was born in New York City and spent her first school years alternating between Puerto Rico and New York.  In Fifth grade she permanently moved to Puerto Rico with her grandparents where she would complete her secondary schooling allowing her to earn her Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences at the University of Puerto Rico.

Soon after graduation, Evelyn moved back to New York to start her career and to hone her English language skills (to this day her daughters tell her she speaks with a NY accent) and gain work experience with at risk children.  She moved to Florida in 1988.  It was in South Florida that Evelyn chose to get involved with the HIV/AIDS/STD/Hepatitis communities.  Beginning in 1988, she held a number of roles at the Broward County Health Department including: Protective Investigator and then Supervisor of the Adult Protective Services  Unit; Operations Management Consultant II for the STD program; Case Management Supervisor for the Ryan White Part A and Medicaid Patient AIDS Care Medical Case Management programs; CRUSHH Program Coordinator creating community tailored approaches to reduce substance abuse and transmission of HIV and Hepatitis; and Prevention Program Manager coordinating HIV/AIDS/STD testing and prevention initiatives.  In 2012 she, joined Care Resource as a Senior Medical Case Manager where she served for five years.  After a two-year absence battling Cancer, she is back at Care Resource in a new position as an Employment Specialist. In addition to her full time work, Evelyn has been an Educational Speaker for Merck Global Human Health conducting educational programs for consumers.

Evelyn’s efforts in support of the HIV/AIDS/STD/Hepatitis communities have not gone unnoticed.  She   received numerous awards and public recognition, including but not limited to: Community Foundation of Broward Footsteps in the Sand Award for Outstanding Direct C.A.R.E.;  she became the first female and non HIV board member of the People with AIDS Coalition (PWAC); the Fulgencio Aponte Community Leadership Service Award; Bank of America and Latina Style Magazine 2013 Hispanic Woman of Distinction; and in 2017 The Juliette Love Humanitarian Award.

Evelyn can’t say enough about Poverello, she loves and respects the programs supporting good nutrition and people living with HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses.  The staff and volunteers take pride in the care that they provide.  She does recognize the difficulty of securing and retaining volunteers whose hearts may not be in it but is encouraged by the many volunteers that she has interacted with.

When not at work, Evelyn enjoys spending time with her supportive close-knit family: husband Jesus and daughters Kiara and Briana. She and her husband purposely bought a round dining room table year ago to ensure that everyone seated could participate in conversation.  Friday is family day in the Morales’ household, often culminating with dinner at the round table with “cell phone free” conversations.

“It’s not how long we live, it’s how we live.”

Evelyn Morales  Volunteers In Profile – VIP: May 1^st, 2019.

Article written by Richard Smith, Poverello Volunteer