Dawn is a Mohawk woman from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Southern Ontario. She sits with the Bear Clan, which is the medicine clan of the Mohawk nation. A single mother and award-winning diversity activist & organizer; Dawn has worked with and for Indigenous communities and organizations for nearly three decades in the areas of Indigenous Education, Health and Governance, as well as Women’s causes and the Arts. She has consulted with Kevin V. Sandy Consulting and Iroquois Lacrosse for more than a decade in Canada and the USA. Working locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, she is an in-demand speaker and writer in countries such as an established cultural Canada, the USA, Italy, Germany and Australia. She has emceed to audiences of thousands at the Parliament of World Religions and at numerous women’s marches in the US & Toronto; and has sat as esteemed member of the UNESCO Arts and Education Roundtable.
Dawn joined the Toronto Argonauts Cheer Team in 2000 and was on the team for two years. During this time she did over 500 radio and television interviews, and raised tens of thousands of dollars through their Dominican Swim Calendar, which raised money for Starlight Children’s Foundation. She was named General Manager of the Team in year two, but with a dozen other women, after some months, moved to the Hamilton Tiger Cats for two years. There, she was one of those chosen for the Bahamas swim calendar, and was chosen for the cover of the video. Dawn also made the Toronto Rock Lacrosse Dance Team where she excelled at cultural education and communication presence. She has since assisted Elizabeth Morgan as the Toronto Argos Alumni Cheer Co-Coordinator for annual Alumni Pink Games, 2014-17.
Dawn has opened/spoken at a number of women’s marches in Toronto: 2017 Women’s March; 2018 & 2019 Toronto Women March on. She has sat on an incredible panel of dynamic feminists for the Girl Guides of Canada at their National Conference in Toronto in 2017 with the likes of Krystin Wong-Tam, Farrah Khan, Kavita Dogra, Hana Shafi, etc. Find a link to my Insta post here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTPRb2BjmsS/ . Further, she is a member of the dynamic Women of Spirit and Faith based out of the US; and a co-founder of Women and Wisdom Canada. See a link to Dawn’s Toronto’s Women March in 2017: https://www.instagram.com/p/BRnmvUpDUi0/.
Dawn’s passion for education and training began as far back as she can remember. She has consistently held prominent leadership roles and stood out as an exceptional communicator in positions such as the National Chair of the AFN-INAC Post-Secondary Education Working Group and as Director of Professional Development for the National Centre for First Nations Governance. As a professional speaker, advocate and writer, her training, curriculum development, policy work and diversity/inclusion contributions to organizations large and small have had a considerable impact on populations around the globe.