Dr. John Morris

Dr. John Morris (August 1977) is an American physician, businessman, coordinator, and news contributor in Anchorage, Alaska. Dr. Morris is one of only 4,048 board certified Pediatric Anesthesiologists in the United States. In July 2021, Dr. Morris was appointed as Housing and Homeless Services Coordinator for the city of Anchorage under Mayor Dave Bronson from July 2021 to October 2021. He is currently President of Denali Anesthesia PC, a medical group practice founded in 1995. Dr. Morris received his Doctor of Medicine in 2002 from West Virginia University, School of Medicine and completed residency from 2002 through 2006 at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine. Dr. Morris makes routine appearances on the Alaska News Source affiliate KTUU-TV, and contributor at Anchorage Daily News.
Early Life
Dr. Morris is the son of former West Virginia Director of Emergency Services Gary W. Morris, and Chief Safety Officer of CAMC, Lillian Dugan. He grew up in Kanawha County, West Virginia who in 1995 received the Presidential Scholarship - one of the nation's highest honors of students, and United States Senate Youth Program scholarship. He attended Wake Forest University on a full scholarship where he received his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and English. He then received a full scholarship to attend West Virginia University School of Medicine where he received his Doctorate in Medicine (MD) with a specialty in Pediatric Anesthesiology. He completed residency at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine. Dr. Morris is also the great-grandson of labor rights activist and West Virginia mayor, Benjamin Franklin Morris II.
Anchorage Homeless Crises
In June 2021, Days before the Anchorage Assembly halted their plan to rapidly build a large-scale homeless shelter, Dr. Morris stood before the Assembly advocating that there was, "Way too much thinking about it. We need to build it." He was subsequently appointed by Mayor Dave Bronson to serve as Anchorage's Homeless Coordinator, a position that has not been previously high-profile in the past. Bronson proposed building a homeless shelter capable of sleeping 450 people, which would be the first in Anchorage's history. However, the Anchorage Assembly would not agree to the timeline - not the scale. Dr. Morris detailed a plan on June 15, 2021, before the Anchorage Assembly, advocating a "large tented structure featuring state-of-the-art navigation services ranging from medical care to social workers on site, housed near the junction of Elmore and Tudor - and that it could be completed by October of the same year.

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