Interview with outgoing Board Chair Amina Dickerson

August 27, 2025

Amina Dickerson is a respected and much-loved civic leader in Chicago. She has served on the Fry Foundation board since 2014 and stepped into the role of Board Chair in 2023. Amina is now turning over the reins of leadership to Graham Grady. We thought this was an opportune moment to get her thoughts on leading the Fry Foundation board.

Can you share some highlights from your time as board chair? Maybe something that was particularly interesting or even fun?

Amina: Certainly, the most fun was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Fry Foundation. This was a great opportunity to be with and hear reflections from people like Chip Fry and Scott McCue. They were both there at the beginning and shaped the direction and culture of the Foundation. It was also an interesting time to step back and reflect on the trajectory and legacy of the Foundation’s grant programs—education, workforce development, arts learning and the former health program. It was a room full of people who had been touched in some way by the work of the Foundation. There was real affection for the Foundation staff and appreciation for the collaboration, for witnessing the work and—in some cases—the push to think harder about outcomes. It was a signal moment to see so many grantee partners, current and former staff, and our friends gathered in one room to celebrate the moment.

I think another highlight for me was the process to bring Librada Killian on to the board. She is a bright, energetic and deeply engaged board member who comes with a real sense of the work. She is asking probing questions, reading literature from the fields we work in, and seeing how the Fry Foundation shows up in our different funding areas. So that fresh energy is very welcome. 

And perhaps the saddest moment for me, was a call I got at the beginning of the year when Unmi Song, the President of the Foundation, said she wanted to talk to me about leaving the Foundation. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that after 22 years of building an amazing legacy, she is going to exit the stage. What I know is that she is leaving us in good stead. But after her very long tenure, I also understand that this will be a seminal moment of change. That does not mean anything will be better or worse, but it will be different and transitions can be hard. We will have to wrestle with what this transition means and how we can make it positive for our community.

You have a range of board leadership experiences. Would you like to say a few words about what makes the Fry Foundation unique?

Amina: Thank you for that question. And I have been thinking about that a lot. There is a shared affection among this group that I think is very special. That's not to say that we always get along or that we always agree, but there is a culture that was in place when I joined the board that continues to be based on mutual respect, a fearlessness about the interrogation of ideas, and of allowing different points of view to find space at the same table. And if anything, I would hope that we can be even bolder as we go forward. But I think the underpinning for any bold action is ensuring that your team is with you. I think that approach has led us to make some of the decisions we made. For example, it was a very difficult decision to close our health funding program. But we recognized, and heard from our grantees, that we had really helped improve their practice and their approach to patient-centered coordinated care. And it was time to exit that arena and push in new directions that can be helpful to Chicago in new ways. 

We are a board that likes to talk and explore what’s possible. The discussion and discourse that happens at both board meetings and board lunches led us to making investments to combat youth violence in Chicago. This is not a formal program area, rather a funding initiative. This is an example of how the Board and staff, through ongoing discussions, gave the issue enough air and space to allow us to become better informed on the issues and the spaces where the Fry Foundation can be the most helpful. And now we think our investments have contributed to some decreases in violence in Chicago.

So, to the point, this is a special board that gives each other the space to ask questions. The group is curious, always probing for deeper answers, trying to get to the “why” of things. We want to break it down, see all the pieces and make it pop. It is one of the things I truly admire and respect about this group.

You are stepping back as chair, but you will continue to serve on the board. This is an interesting time to be working in the social sector. There is a lot of tension in the space. A lot of unknowns. Do you have thoughts about the next phase of work for the Foundation?

Amina: I am really concentrating on leadership and collaboration. First, what kind of leader do we need to help us navigate what might be some significant head winds and uncertainty in the broader philanthropic arena and the social sector? I would like to see us get better at dealing with ambiguity and take not necessarily quick action, but decisive action. We are working in areas that are being battered. The Federal government is abandoning the education space. There are these uninformed ideas floating around about people not wanting to work and a profound misunderstanding about the existing obstacles to gaining the skills that lead to meaningful employment. And in this moment, the arts will be one of the places that heals and brings us together as a community. All these things will be even more important in the next era. As a sector—meaning the philanthropic sector—we have been very self-assured. But this time is a test for us. We have operated on the assumption that certain guardrails that protect our communities will stay in place. And as we have seen, those guardrails are literally being removed right before our eyes. So how do we understand what is possible in this moment? What kind of creativity and discipline do we bring to this moment to solve problems and challenge hopelessness? 

And second, collaboration. If there's anything that emerges out of this moment in time, I am hoping that it builds what has been, in my view, a strength of Chicago's philanthropic sector, and that is collaboration. If anything, this is a time to deepen collaboration and find new ways of collaborating. I would hope that the Fry Foundation will continue its traditions of doing just that, being collaborative, bringing creative ideas, bringing leadership, bringing support in ways that help us really come out on the other end better and stronger.