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Shari Dunn is a polymath, an accomplished journalist, a former practicing attorney, a CEO, and a university professor. Her work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal and quoted in Ad Age and the Chronicle of Philanthropy, among others. Shari is also a sought-after speaker.
She holds a BA in philosophy from Marquette University and a JD from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Born and raised in a working-class, blue-collar, African American neighborhood in one of the most segregated cities in the nation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of racial discrimination on housing, health care, and employment for Black people. As part of the second wave of students bused to suburban schools, Shari understood that others had fought and died for her right to access education and opportunity. Her parents and family instilled in her the knowledge that the struggle for civil rights and affirmative action had created programs like the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), which helped her and many other first-generation college students access higher education—not because they were unqualified but because of historical inequities that provided an opportunity advantage to white people.
Among the most meaningful highlights of her career was the opportunity to interview and thank civil rights icons Harry Belafonte and Julian Bond. These conversations were profound moments where Shari felt it was her turn to pick up the baton and move the country forward.
In her groundbreaking book Qualified, Shari Dunn challenges the false narrative that diversity equates to a lack of qualifications. Through deep research, enlightening interviews, and anecdotes from her extensive career, Shari uncovers the impact of “Competency Checking,” a practice that unjustly scrutinizes Black people and other people of color, forcing them to repeatedly prove their worth, intelligence, and even their right to be in the workplace. Shari argues that competency checking is a key reason why Black people and other people of color are underrepresented in many industries and why there continues to be a revolving door of Black talent, even after the hiring surges of 2020. Qualified illustrates the scope of this issue, exploring how we got here and how, through both identification and correction, we can go forward into a future where all people are truly seen and valued for their talents and contributions.
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