Barb Dawson is a public sector leader with extensive experience in the oversight, development, and delivery of programs that support the most vulnerable populations, including children, victims of intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and families of homicide victims. She has expertise in leading multiple diverse teams to deliver timely, accessible and client centered services. Barb has worked with community and justice partners to ensure coordination of services at all levels. She has collaborated with leaders from seven First Nation communities along the James Bay Coast to develop a framework for the first ever culturally relevant victim services in those remote communities.
Barb’s educational background is in nursing where she worked as an ICU nurse in Toronto, and as a family practice nurse in rural and remote areas of northern Ontario, including several First Nation communities between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.
Barb’s husband Stephen, a beloved family physician and his sister Barbara a devoted educator both passed away in 2017 due to Frontotemporal Dementia caused by the MAPT genetic mutation. Since their passing, Barb has remained committed and passionate about working with the MAPT FTD community to raise awareness and find a cure for families struggling with this cruel disease.
In her spare time, Barb loves spending summers on her houseboat on the Toronto Islands and travelling to Oregon and France to be with her beloved grandchildren Hugo, Leo, and Violette.
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