Her Story
About Dawn
I'm a retired Air Force recruiter who served when women made up only 11% of the force in the beginning and 22% when I retired in 2005. During my military career, I ran one of the largest military deployment operations in the Air Force, which really stood out because there's just not a lot of women that do that - it's very much a man's world. Since retiring 21 years ago, I've been an HR consultant for 33 years total. I became a certified life coach and resilience coach in 2014 through IPAC, and everything I do now centers around resilience because I figured that was the most important thing that women need today. I'm also a published author - I put my first book out about 10 years ago and have a third one coming out, focusing on topics like how to stand up to workplace bullying and discrimination. For the last 8 years, I've been a syndicated radio talk show host with WPVM FM 103.7 Radio Asheville, a non-profit station where I volunteer. My show, videos, and all my content revolve around resilience. I deal with all different types of clients and customers - sometimes employees who need help standing up to a supervisor, sometimes supervisors or managers dealing with workplace issues. Every day looks different for me, which I love because I love change. I do a lot of my own marketing because I enjoy it and know how important it is from my Air Force recruiting background. I'm now emerging as a paid speaker to reach more people with my resilience message.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Dawn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I'm very driven, and I've always wanted to overachieve since I was a child. I've always been a driven person. The thing is, by succeeding, I'm helping other people with my work, and I have a strong desire and need to support and help people become more resilient in their lives. That drive to help others through my success is what keeps me going.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Always work with somebody as a consultant who is much more advanced than you.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My first piece of advice would be to seek a mentor that is more advanced than them. Mentorship is really huge to me - it's what's helped me become successful. Having someone more experienced to guide you can make all the difference in your career.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There's a lot of need out there. The opportunities are to serve and support a lot of people. We live in times where the world is divided with lots of issues going on, and there's a lot of opportunity to get in there and support a lot of people at a greater level. That's one of the reasons why I'm choosing to go into speaking - to reach more people with my resilience message.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty is big for me, being authentic is essential, and being resilient - those are my three go-tos. These values guide everything I do both professionally and personally.
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