Dawn Nelson

Dawn M. Nelson is the Intervention Coordinator at Eastlake H.S.  She first came to work at Eastlake in July 2017. Dawn is a United States Air Force veteran with 28 years of experience in K-12 education.  Her position allows her to help students with educational disabilities achieve success in their academics and prepare for postsecondary education and life after high school.  

Dawn’s father was a United States Marine Corp veteran and then a salesman for Walt Disney Company; his job moved their family all over the country. They eventually settled in Los Angeles, where Dawn graduated from high school and then enlisted in the Air Force. She served on active duty for 11 years as a Russian linguist and photojournalist, stationed in both Japan and Italy, and then finally in Denver. After graduating from Metropolitan State College, she began her second career in education here in Colorado Springs. Over the years she has taught English, journalism (newspaper, yearbook, and broadcast), photography, history, art, film, creative writing, music tech, math, and special education-related classes, and has served as a case manager, department chair, teacher mentor, coordinator, and school administrator.  

Dawn earned a master’s degree in Education Leadership and Administration from Chapman University, a bachelor’s degree in English (Secondary Education) from Metropolitan State College of Denver, an associate’s degree in Interpreting and Translating from the Community College of the Air Force, and a diploma in Russian Language Studies from the Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center. She holds a Colorado professional teaching license with endorsements in Special Education, English Language Arts, and Visual Arts, and a principal license.  

Dawn and her husband, Frank, own a ranch and horse rescue, where they spend their evenings and weekends caring for 13 horses and three dogs. Dawn is also an artist, specializing in photography, custom furniture painting, woodburning, and crochet.