Spreading goodwill & representing Our County

For Yvans Morisseau, the residents of Miami-Dade County are his top priority. As a human service professional with an open-door policy, he works hard to serve the community.

As a dedicated volunteer for the American Red Cross, Yvans moved to South Florida from Brooklyn in 2005. Two years later, he began working for Miami-Dade County.

In 2009, as a goodwill ambassador working in collaboration with USICAN and Protection Civile in port Au-Prince, Yvans provided first aide assistance to folks on the ground in Haiti. In just three days, his group provided aide to nearly a thousand people.

In 2018, Yvans was working a project manager for the Goodwill Ambassador program. That year, Mr. Morisseau and the Office of Community Advocacy received the South Florida Chapter of the American Society for Public Administrators (ASPA) Community Advocacy Award.

The Office of Community Advocacy is charged with making our county into “One Community” that embraces its diverse and unique population. To that end, the Goodwill Ambassador Program provides assistance and support across Miami-Dade County at large events, demonstrations, rallies and elections. The Goodwill Ambassadors serve at the request of the Office of the Mayor, or the Office of the Chair. 

Powered by more than 200 volunteer County employees, Goodwill Ambassadors are trained on a broad range of topics, including crowd control, customer service, mediation, conflict resolution and crisis management. Mr. Morisseau makes sure they receive this important training annually. He also ensure they receive event-specific training prior to any and all deployments.

Fellow goodwill ambassador and friend, Gabriela Ibañez works in the Tax Collector's office. She met Yvans in 2008, serving together as goodwill ambassadors. Gabriela shared with us her personal experience of working alongside him.

"At events, Yvans always makes sure that we are protected and that we work together as a team. He's a great leader with a clear vision of how we can serve our community, and he shares that passion with everyone he encounters. His strategic planning skills have kept us safe," she said.

"Anytime the need arises, Yvans makes sure that Goodwill Ambassador Program is well-represented and serving communities in need all across Miami-Dade County. On top of being a great leader, he has integrity, honesty, humility and a great sense of humor. He shows us how to work as a team and become a family. 'Assist,' is not just a word for him, it's a philosophy."

"We all know that we can count on him," she adds. "Our County is lucky to have him."

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