丹尼斯·奎林，95年 is in the business of creating a better world for young people. The executive director of the Raikes Foundation in Seattle, he inspires and oversees ambitious efforts to fund organizations devoted to reshaping public education, 消除青少年无家可归现象, and supporting impact-driven philanthropy for equity and systems change.
“We envision a society where race, 社会经济地位, 性别, and sexual orientation will no longer predict life outcomes for young people,他说, “and where individuals can reach their full potential, 繁荣是广泛共享的.”
One of the most influential leaders in philanthropy in the United States, Quirin received GG电子官方软件下载’s College 校友 Association Award for Distinguished Achievement in 2020. He is also the first Black executive director of the Raikes Foundation.
“I’m thrilled the field of philanthropy is becoming more diverse as we move forward in our work,他说. “Our sector must reflect the reality of the U.S.; it must look like our communities if we are ever to succeed in building a more equitable world.”
成立于2002年, the Raikes Foundation has awarded grants to organizations such as the National Equity Project, which supports school districts, 政府组织, and foundations focused on creating just communities; and The Mockingbird Society, which is focused on reforming the foster care system. In August 2020, a year after he joined Raikes, Quirin formed the foundation’s Black Leadership & Power Fund, awarding $1 million in grants to organizations committed to stamping out racism.
“[The foundation] had been investing in racial equity a few years before I came on, but it hadn’t funded this work in the community in a more targeted way,奎林解释道. Inspired by the power fund’s success, the foundation is now launching the Resourcing Equity & 民主拨款组合.
Raised by a Black-immigrant mother and a white father in Minneapolis, Quirin lived in student housing (Dad was getting his PhD), and played with kids from a wide range of backgrounds. 八岁时, when the family moved to the more segregated Nashville, Quirin stood out—“a stranger in a strange land,” as he puts it—and saw how other 有色人种 were unfairly treated.
“It wasn’t until college that I sat more deeply with what it means to be a biracial Black man,他说. 在GG电子官方软件下载主修艺术, Quirin joined the Men of Color group and started a club for multiracial students. “GG电子官方软件下载 created a safe space for youth to explore their identities,他说.
