Dionne Lester

Dionne Claybrook Lester has always been a pioneer and trailblazer. She was one of the few African American women who graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree in 1989. After graduation, she went on to have a very successful career at Nortel Networks, joining the senior management team before her departure in 2001. Later, she co-founded the Community Investment Network (CIN), a non-profit organization, with a national scope, highlighting the impact of community philanthropy using a collective giving circle model.

As a very young child Dionne was very enterprising, always finding creative ways to earn additional income in order to supplement her allowance. Clearly, those early childhood experiences created a pathway, and established the foundation for the launch of the DCL Management Group, LLC. Based in Raleigh, NC, the DCL Management Group offers support services to small businesses in the areas of marketing, operations, event planning, project management, administrative and financial utility. Dionne established a consulting firm who provides management support for special projects that range from simple short-term initiatives, to managing cross-functional teams with challenging long-term objectives. As the president, she brings twenty years of project management experience, having lead partnerships and initiatives for small business owners, nonprofit organizations, corporate foundations, private companies, and special interest groups.

Dionne’s true passion has been to be a champion for children with special needs. As the mother of a daughter with cerebral palsy, she saw the tremendous need to advocate for additional services and opportunities that would benefit children of all abilities. This personal mission led her to serve as the Development Director for the Sassafras All Children’s Playground, an inclusive play space for children of ALL abilities. This project is a public-private partnership between the City of Raleigh and community partners. In the spring of 2012, the City of Raleigh presented Dionne with the “Award of Excellence” to acknowledge her exceptional level of community service as a result of her involvement with this project. She is member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Kerygma Marketing Team at Baptist Grove Church, Next Generation of African American Philanthropists, and Frankie Lemmon School Board of Directors and devotes countless hours of community service to other organizations in the Triangle.

Dionne is the daughter of Katherine Claybrook and has one daughter, Danielle Nia Lester. She has been abundantly blessed with a strong circle of friends and extended family. She is a native of Chicago, Illinois but has been a resident of the Raleigh-Durham area since 1994.