Martin D'Urso, Chief Operating Officer

Martin J. D'Urso joined YAP in April 2007. As Chief Operating Office, he supervises the operation of YAP's headquarters, including the departments of human resources, program services, information technology, employee and program development, and quality assurance. In addition, Mr. D'Urso continues to serve as YAP's counsel. In this role, he personally represents YAP in various types of disputes, most involving employment issues. He also coordinates the work of YAP's outside counsel.

For most of his career, Mr. D'Urso practiced complex litigation, including class actions, in Philadelphia. During his last years as a private litigator, Mr. D'Urso was primarily involved in employment disputes, representing both claimants and employers.

Mr. D'Urso has served as an instructor in various Continuing Legal Education courses, including those regarding employment litigation, mass tort litigation, trial evidence, and international human rights. In addition, Mr. D'Urso has spoken at various conferences, including a symposium of the International Center for Environmental Compliance Assessment at Kagawa University in Takamatsu, Japan.

Among other community services activities, Mr. D'Urso has served as a volunteer attorney for the Support Center for Child Advocates, a member of the board of directors of the Ridley Area YMCA, and the packmaster for Collingdale Cub Scout Pack 24.

In 1998, Mr. D'Urso was the Democratic nominee for the United States House of Representatives, in the Seventh Congressional District.

Mr. D'Urso graduated magna cum laude from the Dickinson School of Law in 1984 where he was a member of the Dickinson Law Review, the National Appellate Moot Court Team, the Woolsack Honor Society, and the Order of Barristers. Mr. D'Urso also received individual awards for legal scholarship, moot court advocacy, and ethical considerations. During his second year of law school, Mr. D'Urso was a student coordinator of the prison law clinic at the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill, PA.

After receiving his B.A. from Rutgers University in 1976 but prior to attending law school, Mr. D'Urso worked for the Morris County, NJ Department of Drug and Alcohol Abuse and the Vocational Rehabilitation Center of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, PA.

Mr. D'Urso has been married since 1977 to Gail Colleen D'Urso (nee Mahon), who received a Master Degree in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently a teacher at Carlisle High School. They have three sons.