Noelle C. Dimitri, PhD, LICSW is an Assistant Professor at Simmons University School of Social Work. She brings 25 years of experience in healthcare leadership, direct practice, and mentorship to her teaching and research.
In her previous role as a medical social worker, Dr. Dimitri worked with adults and families navigating chronic illness including transplantation. Through this work, she developed a passion for patient advocacy and for addressing the needs of individuals marginalized within the healthcare system. Her research interests focus on racial equity and health, particularly as they relate to the social determinants of health (SDOH). Drawing on qualitative and participatory methods — including photovoice — Dr. Dimitri prioritizes the voices of community members and those most affected by chronic disease.
Since joining Simmons, her research interests in experiential learning and health equity have expanded to include clinical simulation in the classroom and interprofessional collaboration. These innovative approaches have strengthened her partnerships with health social work scholars and colleagues across disciplines at Simmons University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center, the University of Connecticut, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Interprofessional Center for Experiential Learning and Simulation (iCELS) at UMass Chan Medical School.
Dr. Dimitri’s scholarship sits at the intersection of social work, public health, and healthcare. Her recent work has appeared in Academic Medicine, Environmental Justice, Health & Social Work, Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, Journal of Teaching in Social Work, Research for All, and Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education and Research.
Her philosophy as an educator is deeply informed by her clinical practice and research:
“My teaching is centered on building collaborative relationships and equitable group processes, emphasizing shared power and decision-making, as reflected in the work of Paulo Freire (1970). I strive to foster mutual trust and respect. Teaching the next generation of social workers is critical to ensuring that marginalized populations have access to the highest quality services.”
Dr. Dimitri is also deeply committed to mentorship. She enjoys collaborating with PhD and MSW students in both teaching and scholarship, and she actively incorporates students’ interests and lived experiences into the classroom to support their growth and professional development.
Education
- PhD, Boston University School of Social Work
- MSW, Boston University School of Social Work
- BA, Mount Holyoke College
License/Certifications
- LICSW (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker)
Area of Expertise
Health social work, chronic disease, health promotion interventions in the community; community based participatory (CBPR) research; advancing health equity, interdisciplinary training and collaboration, clinical simulation in the classroom
Courses
Dr. Dimitri’s teaching interests include clinical and healthcare practice and program evaluation. Specifically, Dr. Dimitri teaches the foundation Social Work Practice course (SW421A/B), Social Work Practice in Healthcare (SW478 and SW0478) and the advanced year Program Evaluation in Social Work (SWO509).
Research/Special Projects
- Health and Public Health
- Racial Health Equity
- Social Determinants of Health
- Qualitative Methods
- Participatory Approaches
- Simulation Based Learning
- Interprofessional Education
Publications
*Asterisks denote student co-author
Published
Dimitri, N. C., Baker, E., Savage-Borne, J., Fischer, M. A., Shmueli, D., Stanhope, S., & Young, R. (2026). Developing gender-inclusive simulations in social work education. Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education and Research, 1–13. https://doi-org.ezproxysim.flo.org/10.1080/28376811.2026.2643340.
Dimitri, N., Wright, E.*, Sarnoff Lee, B., & Cadet, T. (2025). Leveraging COVID-19 experiences to prepare for the future: A pilot study with hospital social workers. Health & Social Work, 51 (1), 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlaf046
Hagar, J., Thomas, K., Dimitri, N., & Reisch, M. (2025). Bridging the social justice values to action gap reconsidered: A grounded theory study of how social workers come to engage in social justice action. Journal of the Society for Social Work & Research. In press. https://doi.org/10.1086/734434
Hagar, J., Thomas, K. A., Dimitri, N., & Reisch, M. (2025). Social justice action: Exploring the evolution of social workers' social justice engagement. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research. In press.
Dimitri, N., Collin, C.R., Halmo, R. S., Wright, E. S.*, & Dodilet, N.* (2024). MSW student experiences with the OSCE: Advancing holistic competence for emerging social workers. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 44(3), 309-327. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2024.2344463
Dimitri, N., Lerman Ginzburg, S., Ron, S., Xu, D., Angali England, S.*, Lowe, L., Botana Martinez, P., Araujo Brinkerhoff, C.*, Haque, S., Brugge, D., Sprague Martinez, L. (2022). Advancing environmental justice in the community using charrette: A case study in Boston Chinatown. Environmental Justice, 00(00), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2022.0001
Buitron de la Vega, P., Dimitri, N., Stern, A., Miselis, H., Garg, P. S., Sarfaty, S. & Sprague Martinez, L. S. (2022). Virtual reality simulated learning environments: A strategy to teach interprofessional students about social determinants of health. Academic Medicine, 97(12), 1799-1803. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000004776
Lerman Ginzburg, S., Dimitri, N., Araujo Brinkerhoff, C*., Angali England, S., Haque, S., & Sprague Martinez, L. S. (2022). Exploring intergroup conflict and community-based participatory research partnerships over time. Research for All, 6(1),1-15. https://doi.org/10.14324/RFA.06.1.16
Augsberger, A., Toraif, N., Young, A., Dimitri, N., Bautista, R., Pierre, J., Le, C., Idahor, O., Jusme, C., & Gergen-Barnett, K. (2022). COVID-19 shines a light on health inequities in communities of color: A youth-driven photovoice inquiry. Journal of Community Psychology, 50(8),3700-3715. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22866
National Conference Presentations
Carolan, K., Dimitri, N., Moynihan, L., Glenn, K., & Parekh, R. Prioritizing health equity research in turbulent times: A collaborative roundtable to foster dialogue among social work scholars. (2026). Roundtable. Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Work and Research, Washington, DC.
Mann, E., Collin, Cali-Ryan, & Dimitri, N. Harm Reduction Training (HaRT) in schools of social work: Findings and implications. (2024). Roundtable. Engagement Scholarship Consortium, Portland, OR.
Dimitri, N. Photovoice as an integrated social determinants of health (SDOH) intervention for diabetes providers. (2024). Oral presentation. Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Work and Research, Washington, D.C.
Dimitri, N., Carolan, K., Rippey, L., & Charles, D. Teaching MSW students about the social determinants of health (SDOH) using critical pedagogical strategies. (2023). Workshop. Annual Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, Atlanta, Georgia.
Dimitri, N. Changing the frame: Black women’s experiences with type-2 diabetes to inform providers. (2023). Oral presentation. 19th International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Urbana, IL.
Sprague Martinez, L., Lindell, B., Satishchandra, D., Mojziszek, M, Janvier, K., Tao, C., Dimitri, N., & Buitrón De la Vega, P. The Thrive COVID call center: An interdisciplinary student-led collaboration to advance community health. (2023). Oral presentation. Annual Meeting of the Society for Social Work and Research, Phoenix, AZ.
Invited Speaker – Academic Audiences
Dimitri, N. (2026). Let’s talk about social work research: Developing your social work toolkit. Invited presenter, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Social Work Department, Boston, MA.
Dimitri, N. (2026).Insight into action: A social worker’s toolkit for developing practice-informed research. Invited presenter, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Social Work Department, Boston, MA.
Dimitri, N. (2026). Introduction to photovoice and community engaged research methods. Guest lecturer, SR906, Qualitative Research Methods, Boston University School of Social Work, Boston, MA.
Dimitri, N. (2026). Introduction to community engaged research methods and best practices for navigating doctoral and academic life. Invited presenter, Integrative Research & Professional Development Seminar (SW-OL 685A/B/C), Simmons University, School of Social Work, Boston, MA.
Dimitri, N., Best Bailly, S., Correia Knight, E. (2026). 2026 CIBER spring speaker series: Best practices for supervision in trying times. Invited panelist, Simmons University, School of Social Work, Boston, MA.
Dimitri, N. (2025). Bridging care: Best practices for physician assistant–social worker partnerships. Invited presenter, Introduction to Interprofessional Practice, Tufts University Physician Assistant Program, Boston, MA.
Dimitri, N. (2024). Partnering with social workers in medical settings. Invited presenter, Introduction to Interprofessional Practice, Tufts University Physician Assistant Program, Boston, MA.
Dimitri, N. (2023). Advancing environmental justice in the community: Opportunities for social workers. Invited presenter, Simmons University, School of Social Work, Boston, MA.
Dimitri, N., & O’Donnell, A. (2023). A call to action: Connecting healthcare social work practice and research in trying times. Invited presenter, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Social Work Grand Rounds, Boston, MA.