Adria L. Dunn is an entrepreneur, world traveler, and philanthropist. Adria grew up in a small town in Wisconsin and moved to Chicago to Study Journalism at Columbia College. The years that followed were a whirlwind. Immediately following her graduation, she landed a job as a commodity broker for the Chicago Board of Trade. She would continue a career in finance spanning fifteen years, including many years working in private banking in Asia and the United States.
During her years living and working in Asia Adria became extremely interested in philanthropy. She volunteered and put together events to raise funds for various philanthropic causes. In fact, her mantra for life and business is to “give back”. She often talks about the “dharma chakra”- the wheel of dharma.” The idea is that you can either spin your wheel forward by giving or backward by taking. When the wheel spins forward, water flows back to you. When you spin the wheel backwards, you push the water away. Whether she was working in private banking, raising funds for charity or developing connections with individuals around the globe, she always operated with the mindset of what we give we will receive a hundredfold and that it is extremely important to have an abundance mindset as opposed to a scarcity mindset. “There is plenty for everyone, just as plants in the forest share sunlight, earth and water.”
While returning from a business trip, shortly before the pandemic started, Adria randomly connected 80 leaders she knew in a single whatsapp chat on her phone. The idea may sound mad but this small decision became a ripple effect which led to her now business, The Vine Global Impact, which has since saved lives, raised millions for charity and even changed laws in countries. Her network has grown to 600+ family offices from more than 60 countries who discuss social impact and find ways to make the world a better place every day.
“The global pandemic in 2020 was the first time in history that everyone living on Earth was affected. Life was halted, business was changed, and the entire world was forced to come together.”
In the middle of this, Dunn saw a beautiful opportunity to serve those who needed it the most. She also realized that even in the middle of great change and tragedy, “every human can find hope.“ Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to find. It is far too easy to get caught up in the conflict and chaos that is constantly portrayed on social media and the news. But if traveling and doing business around the world taught her anything, it taught her that there are good people all around the world. Adria has spent the last few years gathering letters from individuals all over the globe that are looking to share a message of unity and hope. These letters consist of stories and messages of hope from world leaders, businesspeople, students, and others from around the world. Her upcoming book is called “The Vine: Messages of Hope from Around The World” and includes letters from the Dalai Lama, Dr. Jane Goodall, Didi Wong, Djimon Hounsou and many others.
While she hopes that many will be inspired by the stories in this book, her main goal is to build bridges of unity and trust between human beings.
Adria L. Dunn has partnered with Authors Unite to publish her book “The Vine.” Authors Unite is a full service publishing company that looks to help authors inspire their readers to make a difference in the world around them.
