Felix Torres Colón, 62, the executive director of New Kensington Community Development Corporation, died February 5, 2020. Visitation will take place today at 9:30, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m., at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church in Willingboro, New Jersey. A celebration of his life will be held March 7.

A resident of Willingboro, Torres Colón became the executive director of NKCDC in 2017, after a career dedicated to community development which included service at St. Joseph’s Carpenter’s Society in Camden and Neighborhood Housing Services agencies in Baltimore and Manchester, New Hampshire. He also served as board president of the Hispanic Family Center of Southern New Jersey.

At NKCDC, Torres Colón, who held a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and had done graduate work in city planning at MIT, engaged in “culture-shaping initiatives around race and equity, trauma-informed community development, and sustainable business practices. In his tenure, NKCDC completed an office move, hired a third more staff, began a new affordable housing development, and received new funding from sources like the U.S. Department of Justice, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Kresge Foundation,” according to the NKCDC website.

“Although Felix was in Philadelphia for just a short while, he made a remarkable impact and raised the bar on advancing equity and inclusion. PACDC was fortunate to have him serve on our Board of Directors,” the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations wrote in its announcement of his death.

NKCDC has created a special fund in his memory to support staff development and racial equity work.

Memorial donations can also be made to Monkey’s House dog hospice and sanctuary. Torres Colón and his wife, Sharon Anderson, fostered and placed more than 70 homeless dogs and adopted three dogs of their own. At the time of his death, according to his obituary, he was fostering two senior dogs and two kittens.

Torres Colón is survived by his wife; brothers, Felix Jr. and Edwin Torres; sisters, Mary Evelyn Torres and Mercedes Torres-Rohwer; as well as nieces and nephews.