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About / Denise Dennis, President & CEO

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In 2001, M. Denise Dennis, a seventh-generation Pennsylvanian, and her late aunt Hope Dennis founded The Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust (DFCLT) to preserve and open to the public the 153-acre farm that their ancestors–documented, free African Americans who came to Pennsylvania from Connecticut in 1793–purchased and settled.  Today she serves as DFCLT President & CEO.

Under her leadership, the Dennis Farm has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, honored by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) and Department of Agriculture, and listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s map of rare African American historical sites in the Northeast United States. 

An author, her books include Black History for Beginners and A Century of Greatness. Denise is also a journalist whose articles have appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Huffington Post, and the Unesco Courier, the publication of the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization in Paris, and PHMC’s online publication.  She has interviewed and written about such luminaries as the late Nobel Prize winning author, Toni Morrison, Ed Bradley of CBS News, and the Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Gwendolyn Brooks. 

Denise began her career as an editor for Macmillan Publishing Company in New York City at a time when there were very few African American editors in major publishing companies. After working in publishing, Denise worked in public relations at Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Bryn Mawr College.  She returned to New York as Senior Media Relations Manager for the National Urban League. In her PR work, she produced press conferences at the National Press Club in Washington, and events featuring such public figures as Muhammad Ali, President Bill Clinton, and Secretary of State Colin Powell.

On behalf of DFCLT, Denise has been a guest speaker at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, the Museum of the American Revolution, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, 232nd Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle of Wyoming (PA), and the Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show.  She has been honored by Misericordia University, the National Women in Agriculture Association (NWAA), and in Women’s History Month 2022, by the Urban League Guild of Philadelphia. 

She serves on the Boards of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route (W3R), the Irem Temple Restoration Project (ITRP), Wilkes-Barre, PA and the Advisory Board of Robbins House, an African American historical site in Concord, MA where her ancestors lived during the colonial era.  Her professional memberships include the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the African American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ and DE, and the Association of African American Museums. 

Denise Dennis is an alumna of Swarthmore College.

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About / Darryl L. Gore, VP Development

Darryl Gore PortraitDarryl L. Gore, Vice President of Development for The Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust, is a seventh-generation direct descendant of the Dennis Farm founder, Prince Perkins, and the great-great grandson of Henry and Angeline Perkins Dennis who expanded the farm. Born and educated in Philadelphia, Gore is an alumnus of Swarthmore College where he majored in Political Science.

During a successful, thirty-three-year career as a Specialist in Claims with State Farm Insurance Company, Darryl traveled throughout the United States on behalf of State Farm. Among his duties with State Farm was his responsibility to train Claim Representatives in the operation of the computerized estimating platform for homeowner’s claims. He also served as a liaison with contractors assigned to make homeowners damage repairs throughout Eastern Pennsylvania. He retired from State Farm in 2019.

Following his retirement and having assisted Denise Dennis at DFCLT for more than ten years, Darryl now works with the Dennis Farm team as DFCLT Vice President of Development to develop the Farm as a resource for all to enjoy.

Darryl and his late wife Delcitia Gore share a daughter, Caroline, and a son, Jordan. He is an active member of the Salem Baptist Church of Abington, PA where he serves as Deacon.

Gore’s professional memberships include the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the African American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ and DE, the World Affairs Council, and the NFL Alumni Association.

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About / Lonnie H. Moore, III, VP Marketing

Lonnie H. Moore III PortaitLonnie H. Moore, III, Vice President of Marketing for The Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust (DFCLT), is a seventh-generation direct descendant of Prince Perkins who first settled the Dennis Farm and the great-great grandson of Henry and Angeline Perkins Dennis who expanded the farm. Born and educated in Philadelphia, Moore is an alumnus of Morgan State University, in Baltimore, MD, where he majored in Business Administration.

For twenty-six successful years, Moore worked for Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia, including twenty-two years as a Marketing Account Executive and Broker Executive. Since his retirement from Independence Blue Cross in 2018, he has worked with Denise Dennis and the Dennis Farm team to help achieve DFCLT’s goals, in his role as Vice President of Marketing.

At Morgan State University, Moore became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated’s Alpha Iota Chapter. Today he is a member of Kappa’s Philadelphia Alumni Chapter where he serves on the Board of Directors of their Achievement Academy, mentoring to young men.

A devoted husband and father, for more than ten years, Moore held several positions, Head Coach, League Representative, Athletic Director, Vice President and President with the Winslow Township Maullers Football & Cheerleading organization, where his twin son Lonnie, IV played on the team and twin daughter, Lonae, and oldest daughter, Fleur, were cheerleaders.

Moore’s professional memberships include the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the African American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ and DE, the World Affairs Council, and the NFL Alumni Association.

Lonnie H. Moore, III lives with his loving wife of twenty-three years, Shante, and is a proud father and grandfather.