Education/Experience
After acquiring a BFA in Graphic Design & Illustration from Tyler School of Art / Temple University in 2001, Dawn took to the design field as a Jr. Designer for Insign Inc., a signage & manufacturing company in NJ, with clients such as Sunoco and Giant Food Stores. After a stint working as a large-format printer operator for Berry & Homer in Philadelphia, she then landed a Graphic Designer position at J&J Snack Foods Corp. in Pennsauken, NJ. Going on 7 years, Dawn has cemented herself in the J&J Art Department and is quite happy creating logos, packaging, and literature for brand such as Superpretzel, LUIGI’S Water Ice, and Whole Fruit. Plus, there’s free pretzels.
Achievements
While design is a field Dawn has flourished in, her main passion is drawing. Thus, her nights and weekends are spent finding new avenues for success in illustration and cartooning. Her online/self-published comic strip “Zorphbert and Fred” ran for 9 years and boasts many accomplishments such as a nomination for “Best Anthro Comic”, and being included in numerous comic Anthologies. Written by Suzanne Ridolfi, Dawn’s other associated book series is “Abby’s Adventures”, a children’s book series focused on self esteem. It is published under Eifrig Publishing, and sponsored by Dove’s self esteem movement. In 2010, Dawn and some fellow cartoonists started “Webcomic Alliance“, a roundtable format podcast discussing the trials and tribulations of being an online comic artist or writer. Dawn’s illustration work has been seen in publications like Philadelphia Style Magazine, National Safety Council pamphlets, RISE: Comics Against Bullying by Northwest Press, and in the Team Cul de Sac Cartoonists Anthology for Parkinson’s Research (which has recently be nominated for an Eisner Award and multiple Harvey Awards). Most recently, Dawn and authors Kate Anderson Foley, Ph.D. and Jenifer Anderson-Smith, successfully kickstarted a kids book called “Ida Finds Her Voice”, which helps parents & kids talk about tough topics like prejudice and intolerance.
