ABOUT DION DAWSON

Disrupting Food Systems. Dreaming a Future.

“There are no facts about the future.” That simple truth fuels Dion Dawson. To him, the future isn’t something to predict—it’s something to create. Every step of his journey, from the South Side of Chicago to global stages, has been about proving that communities don’t have to accept what is—they can build what can be.

As the Founder & Chief Dreamer of Dion’s Chicago Dream, Dion has reimagined how food moves through communities. By blending logistics, data-driven operations, and resident-informed design, he has built a model that delivers fresh produce directly to families’ doors—millions of pounds every year. More than food, it’s a movement: one that creates living-wage jobs, restores dignity, and sparks a new vision of health equity.

Dion’s voice and vision rise from lived experience. A proud son of Englewood and a former U.S. Navy journalist, he knows resilience not as a buzzword, but as a survival skill. That journey has earned him recognition as an Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, TED Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, Aspen Food Leaders Fellow, University of Chicago Civic Leadership Academy Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs Emerging Leader and recipient of the Chicago Bulls Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award, among many others. His written work has been featured in Crain’s Chicago Business, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and his voice on stages across the nation.

Through it all, Dion remains guided by a belief: food security is not charity—it’s infrastructure. His life’s work is to disrupt outdated systems, fuel dreams, and remind us that while the future holds no facts, it holds endless possibility.