Interview with Dubois Thomas

How are you involved in the community?

I work to improve the overall quality of life for residents of the Westside neighborhood of
Pittsfield in my role as Neighborhood Revitalization Director of Central Berkshire Habitat for
Humanity.

Why did you decide to get involved in the Blackshires Initiative?

I felt a need for increased awareness of and connectedness within the Berkshire Black
community.

What are your areas of focus for the Blackshires?

My role within the leadership circle is to help establish a framework with which to sustain the
community owned platform well into the future. I am also focused on establishing a leadership
development curriculum for the Blackshires.

Why are you an expert in the field?

With over 15 years of housing experience in NYC, I have a full breadth of experiences of how
systems work to either improve or degrade our communities. My aim is to use these
experiences to develop sustainable change for disadvantaged communities.

What do you do for the Blackshires?

I am co-champion of the leadership circle alongside Sharron McClain. I help facilitate our
unique set of experts to work in concert towards our mutual goal.