Dr. Dimitrakopoulou is a Principal Research Scientist and Head of Translational Research & Practice at the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (CCC). She leads a cross-functional team focused on bringing listening- and dialogue-centered research out of the lab and into real-world civic spaces, including universities, communities, media organizations, and cities.
Working at the intersection of sociotechnical research, design, and community practice, Dimitra’s work centers on turning bold ideas into tools and systems that communities can meaningfully apply in their own contexts. She oversees the design, prototyping, and piloting of constructive communication tools and approaches, developed in close partnership with practitioners, institutions, and community members.
CCC’s research responds to contemporary challenges of polarization, mistrust, and fragmented public discourse by advancing new approaches to conversation-based listening, deliberation, and media understanding. Dimitra plays a key role in shaping and operationalizing this work by integrating qualitative and participatory methods into the design, deployment, and real-world evaluation of human-AI communication systems.
Before joining MIT, Dimitra was a Professor of Journalism with a focus on civic journalism, qualitative research, and participatory methods. Across her work, she is committed to ensuring that research travels into real-world application in ways that strengthen civic capacity, trust, and democratic agency.
