About Harris for Gulfport

The Harris for Gulfport Movement was birthed out of the deep-seated passion of its founding member, Ronnie Matthew Harris.   Harris is a proud Father and Grandfather to four amazing gifts from God. This U.S. military veteran of foreign service was born and raised in Gulfport's Soria City neighborhood. He has a masters degree in Community Learning and Development with Applied Theology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Now, a retired Christian aid worker to communities in the U.S., Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Hungary and Romania, he’s worked as an experienced speaker, consultant, and, most recently, as a small scale real estate developer. He’s known for having an uncanny knack for connecting people, places and things.

25+ years of experience working in low to moderate income neighborhoods has afforded him countless opportunities to engage key stakeholders about the connections between equity, transformative leadership , and sustainable communities. This movement is his upbringing, education, professional experience, and life's call coming together for one purpose: to serve the people living in and/or concern for the welfare of the City of Gulfport.