Dawn works at the Nevada Department of Agriculture in Reno, Nevada as the Plant Industry Division Administrator. Prior to becoming an administrator she spent eight years developing the Department's statewide Noxious and Invasive Plants Program. The program's goals were two-fold: educate Nevada's public about the detrimental effects of noxious weeds, and when necessary enforce regulations for control. The majority of her time was spent in creating partnerships and opening up avenues of communication between parties that had previously not interacted in terms of invasive plant management. Several watersheds in the state had ongoing land management strategies but there had historically been little or no interaction on the creation or implementation of plans in terms of invasive plant management and awareness among them. Today, land managers of many different agencies, private owners, and tribes work together toward a common goal of invasive plant eradication on those watersheds.

As an administrator Dawn has had multiple opportunities for negotiations with legislators and state budget personnel in attempts to salvage dwindling state funding for her agency. In addition, with a staff of 30, personnel negotiations are ongoing both within the division and between other divisions and departments.

Dawn has a Bachelor's Degree in Conservation Biology and Master's Degree in Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences both from the University of Nevada, Reno and holds a Certified Public Manager Certificate. She is an insatiable student, recently completed an anthropology class, and is always looking for the next learning opportunity.