An accomplished theatrical lighting designer, Dawn has been associated with Theatre Projects since 1990 as a senior lighting design associate and most recently as a project manager for City of Dreams in Macau, China. She is currently working with the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts as a lighting designer and guest lecturer.

Her lighting design credits include Zoot Suit on Broadway and regional theatre and Off-Broadway productions for numerous companies including Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theater, Guthrie Theater, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As the resident lighting designer for New York City Opera for the 1989 and 1990 season, her designs included A Little Night Music, which was broadcast on PBS' Live from Lincoln Center. Dawn was also the associate lighting designer for the Broadway productions of Show Boat, La Cage Aux Folles, and Sophisticated Ladies.

Dawn has earned two Drama-Logue awards in Southern California and nominations for the American Theatre Wing Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award, and the San Francisco Bay Area Critics' Award. She is a member of the United Scenic Artists/Local 829 in lighting and set design. Dawn has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Psychology from Oberlin College and studied piano at Oberlin Conservatory.