Dawn has a Masters degree in both social work and psychology and is currently an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Northern British Columbia. Her teaching and research interests include disability issues, aging, social policy, community organizing and research, northern/remote health and quality of life. Dawn has been a community activist all her life coming out of the women and student movements in the 1960s and was the 2003 recipient of the Bridget Moran Advancement of Social Work in Northern Communities Award. In addition to being president of the Northern Branch of the BC Association of Social Workers, Dawn is a spokesperson and founding member of the Active Voice Coalition and is active in many other community organizations including the Women North Network, Northern Women's Forum, Employment Action/Choices (advocacy organization for persons with disabilities), Alzheimer's Society, Community Planning Council, Community Response Network, and Intersect (children's mental health agency). Dawn also co-facilitates a support group for persons with early stage dementia and serves as a clinical and community advisor to the Senior's Information Line. She sits on the Provincial Board of the BCASW as well as being a Board member and Advocacy Chair for the BC Psychogeriatric Association and the UNBC representative for the Canadian Association on Gerontology.
Appearances in Reflections on Water