Dr. Murphy-Dawson was raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and attended Newcomb College, Tulane University where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in sociology in 1993.  She continued her education in New Orleans by attending Tulane University School of Medicine.  After marrying her best friend, Gary Dawson, MD, she and her husband moved to Pittsburgh, PA where Dr. Murphy-Dawson completed her adult psychiatry residency and child psychiatry fellowship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. 

Since residing in Columbus, GA as of 2004, Dr. Murphy-Dawson dutifully served this community through her time at New Horizons Behavioral Health (NHBH) for ten years as a psychiatrist for both children and adults.  After retiring as medical director from NHBH in March of 2015 to spend more time with her family, she turned her focus to the prevention of trauma.  This prevention has afforded Dr. Murphy-Dawson the opportunity to wear various hats… often all at once.   She has had the privilege of training countless adults in our community how to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse through the Stewards of Children training, in which she initially partnered with Building Towards Welness Community Coalition.  In the same light, she has partnered with Micah’s Promise since 2016, a nonprofit organization that promotes education and awareness of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST).  While serving on their board for five years, she had the enormous privilege of educating community members (churches, schools, nonprofits, etc) on how to not only recognize child sexual abuse, but also human trafficking.  In addition, she was instrumental in assisting the CEO, Bobbi Starr, raise funds and navigate the building of the group home for girls who have been sex trafficked in our state.  She can be seen advocating for better laws for individuals who have been trafficked at our local city council meetings, with the state human trafficking task force, or in the state capitol.  She has served as the Chief Operating Officer in the past and currently is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Micah’s Promise.  

A second hat she wears is in collaboration with Morehouse School of Medicine.  In December 2019, she began their relationship by helping the medical school expand their footprint in Columbus, Georgia.  Then in the summer of 2020, Dr. Murphy-Dawson began what became an annual virtual training for the third-year medical students on how to recognize and respond to human trafficking in the health care setting. Through the support of Morehouse School of Medicine, the training was expanded to her dream of reaching other healthcare providers in the state to include biomedical science graduate students, medical school faculty, medical students, emergency room nurses, dentists, and community health center employees.  This year alone, she will have trained Morehouse School of Medicine medical students, pediatric residents, child psychiatry fellows, and physician assistants.  

The third hat she wears is associated with Emanuel Preparatory School of Math & Science.  She has served on their board since the all-boys school opened in 2016.  Besides enjoying watching the scholars grow from being pre-kindergarteners to middle schoolers, she receives the most joy in teaching them how to prevent child sexual abuse on an annual basis.  She also facilitates the Stewards of Children child sexual abuse prevention curriculum for the teachers during their orientation. She added the Second Step Social-Emotional Learning program to the scholars’ curriculum two years ago.  As a child psychiatrist, she felt it was important for the young African-American boys to learn how to develop positive relationships, to control their emotions, and to achieve their goals. 

Dr. Murphy-Dawson is committed to reducing and preferably preventing trauma in our community and beyond.  Regardless of the organization, as long as Dr. Murphy-Dawson is walking in her purpose of what God has called her to do, she is at peace.  Isaiah 42:6-7 reads… 

6 I, the LORD, have called you for justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

May His will be done through her.