Adrienne Diercks is the Founder and Executive Director of Project Success, a youth-development organization that motivates and inspires young people to dream about the future, helps them take steps to get there and gives them the tools they need to achieve their goals. Her passion to help young people achieve their dreams led her to begin Project Success in 1994 with 200 students at Minneapolis North High School and the support of the Guthrie Theater. Today, she has worked with the incredible Project Success team to grow the program to work with more than 17,000 6el-12el grade students and their families in the Minneapolis and Mankato Area public school districts.
Adrienne was named a 2008 Minneapolis Saint Paul Business Journal “Woman to Watch” and has been honored with the Minneapolis Award for her outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the City of Minneapolis. Adrienne was honored with Ann Bancroft Foundation’s “Dream Maker” Award for Achievement and Leadership and as a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts River Valleys in 2017. In 2019, Adrienne received the WEM Foundation’s Outstanding Educator Award for Excellence in Education, honoring her many years of leadership and dedication to inspire a spirit of learning in students. Adrienne was selected as a Minneapolis Southwest High School Distinguished Alumni in 2025 in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the Minneapolis community through the work of Project Success.
Además de su puesto en Project Success, Adrienne es miembro activo de la Mesa Redonda Económica de Mujeres de Minnesota (MWER), donde formó parte de la junta directiva de 2015 a 2022 y fue presidenta durante tres años, de 2018 a 2020. Es egresada del Instituto de Liderazgo James P. Shannon y exmiembro de la Organización de Mujeres Presidentas (WPO).
Antes de trabajar en Project Success, Adrienne fundó Possibilities, Inc., una organización sin fines de lucro cuya misión era inspirar a los niños a soñar con sus vidas. En ese puesto, viajó por Minnesota y Wisconsin impartiendo talleres inspiradores. Adrienne tiene una licenciatura en Inglés del Whittier College y es una orgullosa graduada de las Escuelas Públicas de Minneapolis.