Business
February 5, 2019
The Portland Business Journal recently named University of Portland instructor Shari Dunn as one of their “Executives of the Year.” Dunn is the executive director of Dress for Success Oregon, a non-profit organization that provides a network of support, professional attire, and the development tools to help women achieve economic independence in work and in life.
At the University of Portland, Dunn teaches classes in non-profit management and social ventures. Her real world experience gives her students a hands-on perspective as they learn about the history of non-profits and study the way the non-profit system is changing. Dunn wants her students to be able to witness the professionalization of non-profits and see non-profit work as a long term career opportunity. Dunn’s goal is to upend traditional thinking about non-profits and look at them through a different lens.
Dunn has been involved with Dress for Success since moving to Portland four years ago. Dress for Success has many programs ranging from suiting to employment retention to a career center. Each program works to help women become financially independent and gain confidence and knowledge within the workplace. Suiting provides women with professional attire for job interviews and suits for the workplace while employment retention ensures that women feel stable within their careers and in their abilities to develop professional skills. The career center is a resource to address and eliminate obstacles that women face in the search for employment. The center also acts as a networking and support network for women.
Dunn is an attorney and former news anchor with executive level non-profit experience and high-level communication skill. She has represented victims of domestic violence as an attorney, lobbied the federal government and ran a national foundation with a multi-million dollar portfolio. Her career has been comprised first of legal and legal-related work, including training and providing program services for a national membership organization made up of attorneys. She then funded that system, providing over 5 million dollars in grants and overseeing program evaluations for organizations that provide legal services. As a non-profit executive, she has developed national collaborations on advocacy and funding projects.
Dunn will be honored at the “Executive of the Year” event on Thursday, February 7. Find out more about the event here.
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