Shari Dunn is out to revolutionize the business model of nonprofits. She believes that the nonprofit model is completely broken. It’s currently based on begging for dollars from donors, rather than innovating with a hybrid model of pay for service as well as other investments. Shari is Executive Director of Dress for Success Oregon and she is making change happen by partnering with tech companies like Treehouse and government entities as well.
Shari grew up in Milwaukie, Wisconsin in a working class, black neighborhood where she played with friends in the streets until dark. She has an intense pride in her Midwest upbringing and the value of work ethic and strong values. She majored in Philosophy in college and is fascinated by how systems work. Shari became a lawyer, then a TV news anchorwoman, then was recruited to run Dress for Success in Portland. She credits her childhood lemonade stand as the entrepreneur experience that has started her obsession with innovating.