Lori Dimun Named Driehaus Foundation Senior Program Director, Arts and Culture
Dimun transitions from Harris Theater for Music and Dance to Chicago's $450M Driehaus Foundation.
Lori Dimun, current President & CEO of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, will join The Chicago-based Richard H. Driehaus Foundation as its Senior Program Director, Arts and Culture this summer.
With assets now exceeding $450 million, the Driehaus Foundation is among Chicago's largest philanthropic organizations. Building on the philanthropic vision of founder Richard H. Driehaus, the Foundation is committed to enriching the lives of all Chicagoans by improving the built environment, cultivating a robust and diverse arts and culture ecosystem, and supporting investigative journalism that fosters transparency, accountability, and effective government.
“I am delighted to welcome Lori Dimun to the Driehaus Foundation. Lori brings an extraordinary depth of knowledge of Chicago's arts ecosystem, a deep passion for the sector, and a long-standing commitment to strengthening the organizations that make our creative communities thrive. Her experience, relationships, and nuanced understanding of Chicago's cultural landscape will amplify our arts and culture grantmaking and deepen our impact across the city, strengthening partnerships and advancing work that is both meaningful and lasting,” said Driehaus Foundation President and Executive Director Lynn Osmond.
Added Dimun, “I am pleased to join the Driehaus Foundation as Senior Program Director, Arts and Culture; a shift in vantage point for me, and a deliberate one, to support an organization that invests in the business of the arts—the infrastructure and capacity that allow creative groups to do their best work. Everything I have learned from the Harris community, including the realities of sustaining a nonprofit arts organization, the complexity of reaching and serving audiences, and the urgency of this moment for our sector, I carry with me, along with deep empathy for what these organizations face every day. I am excited to work alongside the Driehaus Foundation team to help strengthen the conditions that enable Chicago's cultural ecosystem to flourish, innovate, and remain a vital force in the life of this city.”
As Driehaus Foundation Senior Program Director, Arts and Culture, Dimun will provide grantmaking expertise and leadership; manage budget planning, oversight, and reporting; develop, manage, and evaluate philanthropic investments; and represent the Foundation and its Directors to existing and prospective grant recipients and other external stakeholders. She will play a key role in identifying, developing, supporting, and evaluating potential grant recipients, partners, and funding opportunities, and communicating potential grants and their impact to the Directors and to the broader field. As Senior Program Director, Dimun will also lead and manage Program Officers assigned to the Arts and Culture portfolio.
Lori Dimun
is a highly respected arts executive with a 20+ year career dedicated to sustaining and advancing the vitality of Chicago's arts community via roles at two of Chicago's top nonprofit arts institutions, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. As President & CEO of the Harris Theater, Dimun provided overall strategic, artistic, and operational leadership, including programmatic vision, financial sustainability, board engagement, and donor cultivation. Her 15-year tenure at the venue included key positions as Vice President of Operations & Production & General Manager, and Chief Operating Officer, before being named to her current role in 2020. Prior to the Harris, Dimun led all aspects of event management across the development, programming and marketing departments at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, rising through the ranks from Apprentice to Director of Events Management from 2004-2011. She holds a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Global Studies from Drury University, completed the Civic Leadership Academy Fellowship at the University of Chicago's Center for Effective Government in 2019, and is a 2024 graduate of Harvard Business School's Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program.
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