Dawn McCarthy, PhD

Dawn McCarthy served as the Athens District Recreation Team Leader for seven years before assuming the role of Partnership and Community Engagement Specialist for the Wayne National Forest. In her current role, Dawn is responsible for public engagement during the forest plan revision process, as well as serving as project lead for the Baileys Trail System project. 

With a background in both forest ecology and outdoor recreation management, she works to integrate with other resource areas, partners, and volunteers to accomplish targets and find creative solutions to resource-related issues. Dawn has also served on the Leader as Convener Workshop facilitation team twice as a Forest Service representative. She brings to her work strengths in problem solving, strategic thinking and collaboration, as well as experience managing operations at the Forest level.

Dawn received her B.S. in Biology from Fairmont State University in 2001 and her Ph.D. in Forest Ecology in 2008. She successfully completed the USDA Forest Service National Middle Leader Program (NMLP) in 2013, Leader as Convener Workshop in 2017, and the Managing By Network program in 2018.

Listen to Dawn's Spotlight Series Presentation:

Improving Communities Through a Collaborative Vision and Conservation Financing