Dione has been with The Sterling Council since its inception in 1992. She, along with her husband Captain John Pieno, US Navy (retired) were directly requested by Governor Chiles to lead The Sterling Council and drive performance excellence throughout the state of Florida.

During those 30 years, Dione has added the state of Georgia to The Sterling Council; established formal partnerships with FloridaMakes (manufacturing sector) and Sterling International; and added The Sterling Council to the Baldrige Alliance.

Through her leadership, The Sterling Council has performed over 1,000 assessments, trained over 2,000 Examiners, offered an annual multi- day conference and over 50 one-day summits, recognized over 100 role-model organizations (Governor’s Sterling Award, Georgia Oglethorpe Award, or Sustained Excellence Award) with two of those organizations going on to receive the national Baldrige Award.