Founder, Chairperson & Executive Director, Sisters Under Sail Chief Executive Officer, True North of Clinton, LLC (owner of Tallship Unicorn)
Dawn has over 25 years of business experience as an entrepreneur. She has an extensive background in marketing, sales, event planning and public relations. A graduate of Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, an all-women's College, and mother of 4 daughters, Dawn's personal passion lies in leadership development of teenage girls and women. Sail training has long been recognized as a character building experience that develops confidence, self-esteem, responsibility and camaraderie. Dawn decided to take the spirit of teamwork one step further by putting together a structured program exclusively for young female sailors to work side by side maneuvering her 150 ton tall ship teaching them a powerful lesson of girls sticking together in support of one another. In 2005, she founded Sisters Under Sail, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization that has put aboard more than 150 teenage girls since its inception.
As Chief Executive Officer of True North of Clinton (owner of Tallship Unicorn), Dawn and her husband Jay created a partnership with BeamPines Inc., a nationally known Human Resource consulting company based in New York City, and supplies them with the ultimate executive learning-lab, the 118-foot topsail schooner Unicorn. She leads an all-female professional crew who provide the expertise and the on-board execution of team development programs. Unicorn has welcomed aboard business executives, lawyers, physicians, teachers, elected officials and nurses from New York to Chicago and from Boston to Florida.
Dawn and Samantha Santamaria
Through her partnership with BeamPines and with her sail training experience, Dawn plays a key role in the development, marketing and delivery of Chart Your CourseT, a Women's Leadership & Development program. Through the use of the Unicorn, this program offers women executives the opportunity to step aboard and work together to maneuver a traditionally rigged schooner. The executives explore their leadership strengths, risk-orientation and through their shared-learning experience they gain confidence with the support of the other participating women.
As a member of the American Sail Training Association, Unicorn is an attraction vessel that participates in Waterfront Festivals within the United States and Canada. Dawn is responsible for the marketing, negotiation, delivery and execution of all festival events which draw thousands of community members who tour the decks of the visiting tall ships.
Dawn serves as Director on the Saint Mary's College Alumnae Board and, in her spare time, is frequently spotted on the golf course!