Deqa Dhalac Honored with 2025 Community Trailblazer Award

Image Credit: The Third Place Inc

Portland, Maine – March 2025 — Cross Cultural Community Services (CCCS) proudly celebrates our co-founder, Deqa Dhalac, who has been named a 2025 Community Trailblazer Award Honoree by The Third Place Inc. This recognition honors her courageous leadership, groundbreaking public service, and unwavering commitment to equity and justice.

Deqa’s journey is one of resilience and purpose. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, she fled civil war in 1990, living in Europe and Canada before making her home in Maine in 2005. While raising her family, she began organizing immigrant communities, advocating for survivors of trauma, and pursuing higher education. She went on to earn master’s degrees in Social Work and in Development Policy & Practice, using both her lived experience and academic training to advance justice and healing.

Image Credit: The Third Place Inc

As a co-founder of Cross Cultural Community Services, Deqa has been instrumental in shaping the organization’s mission and programs. She has led equity trainings for schools, nonprofits, healthcare systems, and government agencies—helping organizations build the skills and courage to dismantle systemic barriers. She has also guided strategic planning and organizational assessments that ensure equity is embedded not just in words, but in policies and everyday practices. At CCCS, Deqa’s leadership has touched countless communities, supporting both individuals and institutions in their journey toward inclusion and justice.

Her impact reaches well beyond CCCS. In 2018, she became the first Black and Muslim person elected to South Portland’s City Council. In 2021, she made history as the first Somali-American mayor in the United States, and in 2022, she was elected to the Maine House of Representatives, where she currently represents District 120. Her steady leadership and unapologetic voice have inspired people in Maine and around the world.

Image Credit: The Third Place Inc

Guided by the African principle of Ubuntu—“I am because we all are”—Deqa lives out the truth that our liberation is bound together. The Community Trailblazer Award from The Third Place Inc. celebrates these qualities, honoring her as a bridge-builder, an advocate for justice, and a role model for generations to come.