DIONNA DORSEY

Dionna Marie Dorsey is the co-founder and CEO of The Creative Ladder, a nonprofit connecting, elevating, and inspiring a more inclusive generation of creatives. Her love for creativity and community building began as a young child with a coloring book and has since grown into an entrepreneurial passion. She uses compassion, community, culture, empathy, and inspiring storytelling to support the next generation of creatives in their climb up the creative ladder. Her compassionate nature allows her to empathize with others and the result has been her unique ability to create, develop, and nurture ‘the’ message to best align purpose and passion.

Co-founded by Ryan Reynolds, The Creative Ladder offers leadership training, mentorship, networking opportunities, and career development resources for rising creative talent. As CEO, Dionna’s mission is to connect, inspire, and elevate an inclusive new generation of creative talent and to highlight the opportunity deficit in Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, and disabled communities. “The Creative Ladder will help us cast a broader net and connect amazing young creatives to opportunities otherwise less accessible and known.

She's also the founder and designer of District of Clothing, a lifestyle brand encouraging progression, inspiring action, and supporting self-love. With apparel and accessory items for the sideline rejectors who awake with passion for progress and desire to make their dreams reality, District of Clothing is worn by the change-makers making change happen. “We create items to help our community show the world the causes and the people they care about.”