Dawn Knickerbocker, belongs to the Anishinaabe people, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, enrolled in the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe from the Ottertail Pillager Band of Indians. She is the Vice President of Philanthropic Strategies at the National Congress of American Indians Foundation. With a commendable background as a leader in the philanthropic sector, Dawn brings over 20 years of rich experience in nonprofit leadership and a deep commitment to human rights and environmental stewardship.

Dawn's journey has been marked by her belief in the power of peace achieved through nurturing relationships with both the land and its people. Her experience as a grassroots organizer on earth-related issues has been instrumental in shaping her approach to leadership and community engagement.

Dawn's career in the nonprofit sector is distinguished by her innovative work in Washington State as a grant-maker, where she developed a fund for arts, culture, and heritage impacting over a million people. She has also held the esteemed position of Chair of the Advisory Commission on Diversity in Renton, Washington, the state's most diverse city. She currently serves as the president of the board of directors for the Urban Native Collective in Ohio where she resides. Dawn's voice resonates beyond her professional work through her contributions as a published nonfiction writer, poet, public speaker, columnist, and the recipient of the 2020 Martin Luther King Drum Major for Justice Award.