201 366 8692
Meet Diony Elias: A lover of art, chess and cultures of all types, this passionate dad thrives off of the fast-pace of New York City and his ever-changing daily role of serving Dixon’s many tenants.
As Senior Field Services Manager, Diony, also known as D, spends each day managing the Field Services Team and solving problems that range from overseeing a mold remediation project, to the supervision of a roof replacement. D relishes in the fact that each day in this position is different than the next. “I don’t have a routine schedule. I can be in Brooklyn one day; Harlem the next; Jersey City another, and all for different reasons.” Another factor of Diony’s success with Dixon is managing the complex master-key project, which entails the organization and coordination of access to Dixon’s entire property portfolio.
As one who prospers in an ever-changing and diverse environment, it’s no surprise that Diony left his monotonous nine-to-five career as a Corporate Paralegal on Wall Street before stumbling upon Dixon. “When I realized I didn’t want to sit at a computer all day, I started reading about different careers and came across a book called Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. It taught me the basic economics of real estate.” He went on to share, “My cousin used to work at Dixon. He sold me on this new, upcoming real estate company that was hiring as I was looking—it was perfect timing.”
D is a native New Yorker who enjoys the city’s fast pace, but also appreciates the serenity in his new downtown Jersey City neighborhood. When he’s not running around the New York City metro area, Diony’s nourishing his wide array of after-work passions, from dancing Bachata, to reveling in the city’s manifold art scenes. D also spends much of his time with his two-year-old son, Neymar. “He’s bilingual and famous for his high fives,” Diony smiles. Neymar, nicknamed Mars, joins Diony on many of his adventures. “We play chess together, dance, and visit art galleries. It’s important to me that I instill in him a sense of open-mindedness and an understanding of multiculturalism. I’ll be proud of whatever my A1 chooses to be when he grows up as long as he weighs his options and is passionate about his aspirations.”
If you know Diony, you know he marvels at art of all kinds. In fact, he serves artists and collectors as a contemporary art consultant on a part-time basis. After D riddled off a list of grand art museums he has visited and artists that he most admires, (including Felix Gonzalez-Torres for, “His conceptual mind and ability to beautifully execute his poetic ideas with everyday materials,”) we wondered how he first ignited this fiery passion for art.
“I was living in Philly after college working under my mentor, a Philadelphia real estate investor and alumni of my alma mater, Brandeis University. He invited me to dinner at his home one night and introduced me to his private art collection, of which I didn’t recognize a single piece at the time.” Diony continued his story with a new enthusiasm in his eyes, “I’m very inquisitive, so I went home and researched the artists he named in his collection. For me, art history made an immediate connection to hip hop; you can’t have Picasso without Cezanne, like you can’t have Kanye without Jay Z. From then on, art gradually grew from an interest, to a passion, to a love.”
This love of art inspires Diony to travel frequently; from around New York City, to Barcelona, Spain and Bahia, Brazil. “Barcelona is magical, but Bahia has such a vast wealth of culture. My experience there alone made me want to learn Portuguese, hence why I named my son Neymar – yeah, like Brazil’s esteemed soccer player who plays for the Spanish club FC Barcelona.”
When asked where he sees himself in the next five years, D laughed, “Hopefully working at Dixon Barcelona!” Diony finished with heartfelt words toward his Dixon family, “Dixon is a second home to me. I admire my colleagues and thoroughly enjoy working with our clients.”
Interested in joining the team? Check out our career opportunities page for all available positions!
