Courses. Workshops. Trainings. Presentations. Available Upon Request The Child Who Believed He Could : Personal Testimony Nonviolent Communication For Inner Peace And Social Justice
A Voice And A Choice : Grassroots Community Organizing Fundamentals Black Theology And Liberation
Breaking The Cycle With Dieter Cantu
Economic Development In Low Income Communities
How To Become More Productive In A Distracting World
How To Break Generational Curses Within The Black Community
Civic Engagement And Decolonization
Behind The Masquerade : A Youth Led Dialogue On Grasstop And Grassroots Organizing To Create Solutions For Dual Status Youth
Dieter is a Black-Mexican / German male, currently residing in Houston Texas. He is an organizer at heart with a passion for juvenile justice reform, urban agriculture, fighting for equity and equality for those in need. His first name meaning "warrior of the people" in German, his mantra is leaders become great not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.
As a youth he received a ten year sentence and spent close to four years incarcerated for his first offense, where he was with three adults and Dieter was the only individual required to serve time due to the juvenile detention system not having a PR bond system in place. Having experience going to court without proper representation and being coerced into signing a plea bargain due to not knowing his rights, and witnessing extortion, youth being sexually assaulted, and other forms of oppression against youth within juvenile jails, he knew at an early age how unfair the criminal justice system was designed. While incarcerated Dieter studied Fidel Castro, Barack Obama, and Pedro Albizu Campos on how to turn moments into movements, and decided to give back once he was released by getting involved with community organizing. His passion for youth leadership development movement within marginalized communities, has led him to build a national base of activists dedicated to creating justice and freedom for people of color.
Dieter has experience working in various capacities and advocating for a plethora of issues as a Violence Interrupter for Cure Violence (Chicago) , Lead Criminal Justice Organizer at Texas Organizing Project (Houston), and Program Manager for youth and community engagement at Harris County Youth Collective. He is highly effective at turning social movements into recognizable brands, gaining national recognition for "Cantus Books to Incarcerated Youth" "The Trident Family" and "Respect Women Campaign". For his efforts he has acquired nearly 3.5 million in grant funding over the span of five years.
Dieter Cantu is a community organizer, activist, and social entrepreneur. Using his past experiences as a youth in the juvenile system and experiencing extreme conditions of poverty, he strategies to reform the current systems that are in place.
He Is the Chief Operating Officer at The Trident Family LLC, a collective of Individuals dedicated to community advancement and self liberation. The Trident Family is a social enterprise alliance of nonprofit and for profit entities, dedicating to addressing basic unmet needs and solving environmental problems. We are change agents dedicated to finding what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to move in different directions.
For his charitable efforts he has received various accolades such as: Reebok Human Rights Award Recipient American Express Leadership Academy Fellow Houston Business Journal 40 Under 40 JLUSA 2020 Fellowship Cohort NAACP Millenial Gamechanger President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing Proclamation Dieter Day Bexar County Proclamation Dieter Day City of Houston
He Is a frequent guest on television, radio and online media, as her opinions on critical current events are widely sought after.
More than 1,000 Colleges , conferences, and agencies Have hired dieter to speak, host, or provide trainings
(Non Exhaustive List)
California Curbs Annual Meeting
Colorado Denver - Art of Hosting
Conneticut True Colors Conference
Georgia Emory University - Ted X Talk Spelman University
Hawaii University of Hawaii Matsunaga Institute for Peace
Iowa White Privilege Conference
Illinois Chicago Peace Not War Rally Cook County Day of Thanks Annual Giveback
Maryland Race Forward Equity In The Center
Michigan Facing Race: National Conference
New York American Express Leadership Institute John Jay College - JLUSA Fellowship 2020
North Carolina Wake Forest University Black Law Students Association
Texas Abilene Christian University - Ted Talk Abundance Living ACCEPT Youth Peer Support Coffee Chat Alamo Colleges Gents Panel Bexar County Commissioner Court - Dieter Cantu Day City of Houston - Dieter Cantu Day Dream Week - San Antonio Growth & Development Weekend HCYC Dual Status Crossover Convening Edgewood Alternative Lina Hidalgo Civic Saturday Our Lady of the Lake - Classroom Presentation Prairie View Men Etiquette Seminar Rockdale Juvenile Detention San Benito Bootcamp Serenity House Shamar Hope Haven St Phillips College TCJC Youth Action Month Texas Community Service Association - Tyler Texas Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Ayers House Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Cortrell House Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Gainvesville Juvenile Correctional Academy Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Giddings State School Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Mart Texas Juvenile Justice Department - McFadden Ranch Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Roanoke House Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Ron Jackson Stateschool Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Schaeffer House Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Tamayo Halfway House Texas Juvenile Justice Department - Wiloughby House Texas Juvenile Justice Department - York House Texas Southern University - Anthony Graves Speakers Bureau TNOYS 36th Annual Conference TXSOC x CRCG Conference University of North Texas - Hispanic Heritage Month University of Texas at Austin- Texas Male Student Leadership Conference University of Texas at San Antonio - Classroom Presentations
Virginia Envision Experience Inquiry - National Youth Leadership Forum on Law
Washington DC 2020 CJJ Virtual Annual Conference Annie Casey Foundation National Convening Georgetown University Juvenile Justice Leadership Network
Organizations that Dieter has developed, incorporated, or worked with
Having a long history of community organizing and now working for a county agency, he focuses on combining grasstop and grassroots organizing with an agenda that is based off six core principles. 1. Identifying and understanding a vulnerable community, its root problem(s), and how the existing social system has created the problem(s) 2. Developing a shared solution (and narrative) for how the solve the community's problem(s) 3. Creating an action plan to achieve the desired solution by winning collective power 4. Building relationships, bringing people together, and educating them on how they can help carry out the plan 5. Keeping the plan moving forward toward its intended goal through trainings, actions, media relations, regenerative support, building solidarity and coalitions, and other movement strategies 6. Identifying and keeping resources in the community, empowering community members to no longer need the system and how to become self sufficient.
Issues / Concerns
Skills / Proficiencies
Criminal Justice Reform Ending Mass Incarceration Youth Justice and Child Protection GOTV - Get Out The Vote Civic Participation Voters Registration Police Accountability Street Conflict Mediation Gang Violence Intervention Art of Hosting Housing Justice / Hurricane Harvey Relief Education / Counselors Not Cops Protests and Demonstrations Racial Justice
Field Organizing Base Building One on Ones Phone Banking House Meetings Power Mapping Long Term Strategizing Leadership Development Facilitation Turnout Math NGP VAN Cutting Turf Protest Chants Campaign Activities Engaging Impacted Communities