Born and raised in New Bedford,MA, Dawn grew up in a large family. Her mother was first generation Cape Verdean American and her father's family, of mixed heritage, lived in the USA for generations. She graduated from UMASS, Amherst and Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a retired school principal. She is a human rights advocate, a community activist, a poet, lecturer, a linguist, and, most importantly, a mother to 5 children and is "Grandma Dawn" to 14 grandkids.