ATI2025
The 22nd Annual Training Institute
Collective Action for Lasting Change
Uniting for Impact in Homelessness Prevention, Crisis Response, and Housing Stability
May 21, 2025
The Connecticut Convention Center
Hartford, CT 06103
The Annual Training Institute (ATI) is Connecticut’s premier capacity building event for the Homeless Response System. We host hundreds of provider staff, municipal leaders, state and federal legislators, business principals, community members, and national experts for a full day of cutting edge, actionable workshops designed to educate, inspire, and empower.
This year’s theme, Collective Action for Lasting Change, represents our Homeless Response System coming together to meet the current moment of uncertainty and challenge. We have always persevered as a state through adversity, and we have done so through unity and collaboration. This year’s ATI will serve as a unifying moment in this endeavor. With local and national expertise, we will provide tangible tools to motivate, galvanize, and achieve success as we work as a unified system to prevent, assist, house, and ultimately save lives.
Our Keynote Speaker
Marc Dones
Policy Director
Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative
Marc Dones (they/them) is the policy director at BHHI. They are an American social justice advocate and policy strategist and have worked extensively in the fields of violence prevention, homelessness, affordable housing, and racial equity. Most recently, Marc served as the inaugural CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, where they oversaw a $250M budget, implemented one of the best emergency housing voucher programs in the country, and advanced national models on encampment response.
Marc has held leadership positions in several organizations, including the Center for Social Innovation and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and taught both undergraduate and graduate-level coursework. They have also served as the Executive Director of the National Innovation Service, which focused on promoting equity and social justice in communities across the United States through policy and program design.
Marc is known for their work on developing policy solutions to address homelessness, particularly for people who experience chronic homelessness. They have published on the intersections between race and homelessness, race and behavioral health, systems transformation, and have been asked to speak at the White House, testify to Congress, and are a sought after keynote speaker.