Dimitri is on the grantmaking and capacity-building team at Building Changes. He partners with public sector entities, service providers, and community leaders in supporting efforts to reduce homelessness and enhance racial equity in our system. Dimitri is inspired by the legacy of Black-led organizing efforts that made community the hub for enrichment, solutions, and survival. The legacy of this work grounds Dimitri’s commitment to culturally-responsive approaches like Diversion, and efforts to elevate the voices of people with lived experience. Dimitri has come to this work through community organizing, advocacy, and local government. In these settings, he has led grassroots campaigns, facilitated trainings on how to shift power from within and without, and staffed community leaders and social service professionals providing policy and budgetary leadership in our local homeless response system. Dimitri is an MSW, and grew up in the Puget Sound region.