I know. I've already been told. All my life, I've been told to focus. But I have succeeded in my life of writing, photography, public speaking, fundraising, relationship building, teaching, managing and leading as an entrepreneur and a university administrator. And I want to share the lessons with you. Do I love too many areas of life and living to be a successful in any one area? Focus, focus. I don't know the answer to that, but I do know that what I'll share and teach and create with you will affect you, your team and your life.

So, if I have to focus on one thing, I'll focus on this: mom gave birth to a poet.

With those skills and sensibilities I have achieved in all those areas, blending a poetic nature with logical thinking and enthusiastic ambition. Go ahead. Hire a poet to change your life.

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Higher Education

• Raised millions of dollars for four universities while engaging thousands of alumni, and hundreds of volunteers...all done "one friend at a time."
• Contributed the chapter Partnering With Families Through Institutional Advancement in the Jossey-Bass book titled “Consumers, Adversaries and Partners: Working With Families of Undergraduates.”

Photography

• Owner of Dion McInnis Photography (1977-1994), freelance business providing commercial, portrait, public relations and fine art work in the Houston area. Currently providing fine art and commissions. www.dionmcinnis.com.
• Photojournalist and writer for weekly suburban newspaper 1978-1982 (Advertizer Advocate, now out of business); won national award for series on special education in Fort Bend Independent School District.  Freelance writer for various publications, including two national photography magazines—The Rangefinder and Studio Photography.
• Fine art photographer, public speaker and author since 2001.
• Serves as portfolio judge, critiques images for Houston Photographic Society, teaches photography and has organized photography exhibitions.
• Photos exhibited in four one-man shows, held in archives of City of Houston library (“Alief Faces”), and shown in several juried competitions.
• Currently teaches at Houston Center for Photography. Also, one of the founding reviewers of Houston Photography Study Group. Also, reviewer/judge for Houston Photochrome Club's annual banquet 2012. Reviewer/judge for Ft. Bend County's Celebrate the Arts photo exhibition.
• Serves on the board as president of The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake; a founding reviewer for the Houston Photography Study Group.
• Cited as “Man Who Champions Women” by New Mexico Woman Magazine for his work; also, received Bay Area Turning Point shelter’s “Caring Heart” volunteer award.

Exhibitions

• Body Image: juried competition at The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake, August 2011
• Landscape of Life: Cultural Landscape—dual exhibition with Sandria Hu (printmaker) in Pilzen, Czech Republic (July 2010)
• Vermont Photo Place Water juried exhibition (2009)
• “Show Me Who You See in Me” solo exhibition at Good to Go café (2009)
• The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake, 2008 Winter Juried Competition
• Learning Curve 2 exhibition at Houston Center for Photography (2008)
• The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake, 2006, (juried figurative art exhibition)
• The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake, 2004-5 (juried all media exhibit)
• The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake, 2004 (juried photo exhibit)
• Barnes and Noble, Clear Lake City, 2003 (as part of featured poetry reading by Dion McInnis)
• University of Houston-Clear Lake 2002 (images of women inspired by their stories, from Her Legacies Foundation, founded by Dion: www.herlegacies.com)
• George Library, Richmond TX 1984 (community "Celebrate the Arts" juried exhibition)
• First Alief Bank, Houston TX 1983 (solo exhibition)
• Westwood Mall, Houston TX 1983 (solo exhibition)
• Houston Public Library (Alief Branch showcasing “Faces of Alief,” images and stories of some familiar names in Alief history) 1983

Writing

• Published fiction and nonfiction; prolific with essays, stories and poetry. “Best Fiction” award in 2002 Bayousphere literary journal.
• “Listen to Life: Wisdom in Life’s Stories” published by Xlibris in December 2005 based on Dion’s weekly newsletter by same name.
• Previously wrote for two national photography magazines: The Rangefinder and Studio Photography.
• Recently published four photography books: “The Seeing, Not the Taking: A guide to seeing for photographers,” and “Show Me Who You See in Me: Close, closer, closest,” which displays a series of portraits of women.
• “Daddin’: The Verb of Being a Dad,” a collection of stories, journal entries and poetry celebrating the moments of living the verbs of being a father and son.
• Cited in media internationally on parenting, morale boosting, creativity, expression, writing and more.
• Completing 50 Years, Faces, Storiesas part of Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce's 50th anniversary. Project involves interviews, photographs and profiles of 50 people who helped make the Clear Lake area what it is today.

Workshops Conducted

• Photography instructor at Artcamp, held at University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic in 2010 and 2011; scheduled for 2012. Ongoing photography project titled Women of Artcamp underway.
• Writing: for participants in “Woman: Imprints, Legacies & Tales” (my project that inspired the creation of Her Legacies Foundation) and for the community, including women’s shelters, women’s ministries, young women (13-16) and more.
• Photography: as a creative outlet and/or for healing, to men, women and children.
• Varied topics. See “Dion’s Topics” and speaking calendar at www.dionmcinnis.com.
• Regular presenter at photography organizations, including Houston Photography Study Group, Houston Photographic Society, NW Houston Photo Club, League City Photo Meetup, Woodlands Photo Club and more.