
Category: Leadership


DAWN APONTE
Administrative Assistant, Washington Scholars Program
Dawn is an Administrative Assistant for the Washington Scholars Program (WSP) and K-12 Partnerships Program Office, within the Office of Admissions at George Mason University. Dawn joined the team in 2012, following a career with the U.S. Deptartment of Justice. She loves supporting the WSP summer programs, the students and their families, and her teammates. In her opinion, George Mason is an inspirational and progressive place to learn and serve. Dawn spends her free time outdoors as much as possible and loves to read and be with her young-adult children.


SUE MURAIDA
Assistant Director
Sue Muraida is a best-selling author, speaker, and pursuer of abundant life. Over the past 30 years, she has worked as a medical photographer, photojournalist, leadership trainer, writer, and teacher. Sue has published three books, Change For a Penny, The Silent Sound of Darkness, and her memoir Going Back For Me, as well as co-authored the anthology Deserts To Mountaintops: Our Collective Journey To (Re)Claiming Our Voice. She is currently the program director for Humanities North Dakota.


ALI DODSON
Associate Director, Washington Scholars Program
Ali is the Associate Director of the Washington Scholars Program. She has a B.S in conservation biology from George Mason University, and an M.S. in sustainable development and conservation biology and M.P.P. in environmental policy from University of Maryland. Her master’s research focused on student perception of environmental issues. Before coming to Mason, Ali worked with the Environmental Protection Agency, where she was an ORISE fellow researching coastal wetlands. In her free time, she attempts to grow her own vegetables, hangs out in her back yard with her family, and sings karaoke as often as possible.


ELENA JOHNSON
Director, Washington Scholars Program
Elena is the Director of the Washington Scholars Program (WSP) which includes the Washington Journalism and Media Conference (WJMC) and the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment (WYSE). As the director, she works to create fulfilling Summit experiences by developing curriculum for the programs, as well as recruiting professional faculty and nationally recognized speakers in the fields of journalism and the media and environmental science. Under her leadership the programs have tripled in size and furthered their reach through key partnerships. Elena also manages college access initatives, events, and recruitment partnerships for the Office of Admissions. Elena earned a B.A. in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and her M.Ed. from George Mason University.
