Her Story
About Dawn
Dawn Borel serves as the Customer and Supplier Quality Manager for Winnebago, where she analyzes customer warranty and service issues to identify trends and works with approximately 500 critical suppliers on corrective actions and proactive initiatives. She has been in the quality field since 2012, bringing experience from retail management, two years in the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan, quality management in the oil tools industry, and five years at Curry's (an Asa Abloy company) where she served as quality manager and later order processing manager. Borel holds a vocal performance degree in music and has earned certifications as an ISO 9001 Lead Auditor, 14001 Auditor, API Q1 Lead Auditor, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, ASQ Certified Manager of Quality and Operational Excellence, and ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt. A senior member of ASQ, she has spoken at the ASQ Minnesota conference and is scheduled to present at the worldwide Lean Six Sigma Conference in Kentucky. She attributes her success to luck and supportive leaders, values diversity in problem-solving, and has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters as a former Big Sister while maintaining a strong connection to the Peace Corps.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Dawn
01What do you attribute your success to?
A great deal of luck and having really great leaders that have believed in me. I was very lucky to find and work with people that I wanted to emulate. Having different areas of my career has really helped a lot, including going through Peace Corps which taught me resourceful problem-solving.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Find somebody who will mentor you and work for them if possible, or keep in steady contact with them. Find a company that really focuses on values that you have as a person. As a leader, recognize that a person that isn't good at a job might just need to be placed where they can use their strengths.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Find a mentor. Work on your certifications, meaningful ones like auditing or Lean Six Sigma certifications from reputable bodies, for the knowledge and understanding behind them.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Biggest challenge is being a woman in a very male-dominant profession like quality and manufacturing, claiming a seat at the table, being taken seriously, and finding the fine line between likability and assertiveness. Opportunities include being offered the quality manager position which was a game changer, and the order processing manager job that recognized leadership potential beyond quality.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
A company that is actively trying to be diversified and understands that different people's perspectives bring a whole other level of problem solving. Making impacts in people's lives, whether big or small, in their personal life or their safety.
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