As Coach, Strategist and Counselor to experienced and emerging leaders in philanthropic, business and non-profit organizations and civic organizations, Amina Dickerson's passion is to connect people to their power, potential and possibilities. Using a co-active approach and thoughtful, challenging inquiry methods, Amina strives to help clients define their leadership values and brand in ways that bring clarity, commitment and courage to their work and lives. Each coaching engagement is uniquely tailored to support the client through a personal process of discovery, reflection, focused assessment, and candid conversations. Clients report a heightened sense of personal empowerment, fortified vision, and strategic agility to achieve the goals they have established for themselves.

Amina’s expertise as a coach is built on more than four decades of senior and executive leadership experience in the non-profit, corporate, and philanthropic sectors. She has honed her practice to focus on executive and leadership coaching, career advancement and succession planning. Newly appointed directors, BIPOC and women leaders are a particular specialty in her practice, informed by her extensive experience in nonprofit and cultural sectors. Previously she headed multi-national philanthropic programs at Kraft Foods and held executive posts with the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Chicago Historical Society (nee History Museum), and the DuSable Museum of African American History, and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, among others. As a corporate funder, she oversaw a broad portfolio that included food insecurity, human rights, the arts, parental involvement in education, healthy lifestyles, and domestic violence. Her civic and volunteer efforts led to involvement in a range of planning, philanthropic initiatives, and strategic partnerships, including the Salzburg Global Seminar, Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the National Museum of African American History and Culture at Smithsonian, and a special project supporting museums at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Currently, she is the Chair of the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation and Vice-Chair of the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Amina studied theater at Emerson College, holds a certificate in arts management from Harvard University, and a M.A. in arts management from the American University in Washington, D.C., where she was named to the Alumni Hall of Fame. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the prestigious James Joseph Lecturer from the Association of Black Foundation Executives, Chicago Women in Philanthropy, Chicago African Americans in Philanthropy and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In 2009, she was added to the HistoryMakers national African American video archives at the Library of Congress.