Dawn Rodney

As Chief External Affairs Officer at the National Park Foundation, Dawn Rodney advances the organization’s mission by sharing with the world the wonders of our national parks and the impact made possible through the Foundation’s programmatic work. In this role, she oversees marketing, strategic communications, government relations, corporate and media partnerships, content creation and strategy, as well as brand development.

Through telling the unknown stories of our national parks, Dawn’s leadership creates a critical emotional connection to our national treasures, ensuring they are protected for future generations.

She brings more than 30 years of experience transforming mission-driven businesses through innovation, award-winning storytelling, and high-profile global marketing campaigns for some of the world’s beloved media and nonprofit brands. Prior to joining the Foundation, Dawn served as Chief Innovation and Growth Officer at the National Wildlife Federation where she led and developed innovative market-based solutions driving both impact and revenue for the organization. Prior to that, Dawn spent 18 years in leadership positions at National Geographic where she was integral in launching and branding the National Geographic Channel and Nat Geo Wild and was responsible for leading the global brand and engaging digital audiences across the world.

As a career storyteller and brand builder, Dawn worked at Discovery Networks as a supervising producer for the then start-up networks Animal Planet and Discovery Health. Throughout her career, Dawn’s creative campaigns have been recognized with many industry awards including multiple Emmys and a Webby Award.

Dawn is passionate about wildlife conservation and serves as a Trustee of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation advising and stewarding the nonprofit through a transformational growth period. She is also a past board member of Promax, the association dedicated to the television marketing and creative community and is also a Fellow of the Women in Cable & Telecommunications’ Betsy Magness Leadership Insitute.

Dawn lives in Northern Virginia with her family and border terrier rescue. Her current favorite national park is the Channel Islands where she saw an unforgettable site – a megapod of dolphins!