DAWSON

About Dawson

Dawson grew up without his dad. A few stepdads came and went, but it was the father figures at his church who showed him what it meant to be a father. His mother, though, had the most pivotal impact on his life. She taught him how to treat women, to value family, responsibility, and independence, and most of all how to be a caring, loving person. She lived the classic Gen X mentality: “If you want it, you EARN IT. Shoot for the stars, but remember, without a parachute the fall is hard.” She always gave her last penny for her kids, and although she wasn’t perfect, she loved hard and taught all her kids the value of hard work. Dawson often tells nursing students that the best way to treat a patient is like they’re your own mother or father.

Dawson’s sister Sandra, who passed from cancer, was like a second mother to him: kind, funny, and never too proud to put him in his place. She supported him like no one else. Dawson chose nursing because of her, not because of her cancer, but because she saw in him what he didn’t see in himself until she was gone. Her story helps him relate to so many of his patients. Because of his mother and his sister, Dawson wanted to be the best dad he could be, and by age 10 he had one dream: to become the dad he never had.

He’s a proud father of two grown kids, who are the light of his life. When his marriage ended, his oldest was 10, and starting over at 40 turned out to be harder than nursing school. He juggled money worries, overtime, and kid time while building a new life, and he never stopped being the dad his kids needed.

About three years after the divorce, Dawson started dating again, and it was discouraging. Too many people seemed to see men in a negative light, and family values felt hard to find. After two rough relationships he almost gave up, until he met Sydney at work. She has loved him and his kids in a way he never thought he’d be loved, and she renewed his faith in marriage, partnership, and family.

Dawson has worked in healthcare for more than 26 years, first as a Respiratory Therapist and, since 2017, as a Licensed Registered Nurse working as a travel and float nurse. He’s cared for patients through 9/11, H1N1, and COVID, and he’s worked with thousands of families through their happiest moments and their hardest. Homeless or wealthy, every patient gets the same compassionate, thorough, high-quality care, because to Dawson, his patients are family.

He and James started 2 Dads Gen X Edition because the world has turned men and dads into a joke, too often treating the family as something to tear down and casting men as the villain. Together they’re out to change that story and help men become better fathers, dads, and husbands, drawing on real-life experience and their professional backgrounds.