Dawn Wallace leads the nonpartisan Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation, which enhances civic life through civic education, engagement, and leadership development programs. She oversees Flinn Young Leaders (civic learning and skill-building for teens), CivEx (free educational programs on Arizona policy and politics), the Civic Leadership Collaborative and Arizona Civic Life Partnership (which convene organizations to strengthen participation and connected communities), and the Center’s cornerstone, the Flinn-Brown Fellowship—an immersive experience that connects community leaders with policymakers and experts while building a statewide professional network. She also leads the Center’s most recent initiative, AZ Leaders on Board, a board-matching tool that links civic leaders with opportunities to serve on nonprofit boards across Arizona. She joined the Foundation in March 2020.
For Dawn, public service is personal. A child of immigrants who became a U.S. citizen in 1996—and cast her first vote on her birthday—she believes elections and civic participation shaped her life and affirmed her family’s belief in the American dream.
Wallace’s public-service background spans the Legislature and the Governor’s Office, with a consistent emphasis on education policy and budget. She spent a decade in the Arizona Legislature in policy-advisor roles in both the House and Senate and also served in the administrations of three Arizona governors—beginning as a budget analyst for Govs. Jane Dee Hull and Janet Napolitano, and later as a senior advisor in Gov. Doug Ducey’s office. In the Governor’s Office, she led development of the P–20 education agenda, served as a liaison to executive agencies, and planned and managed statewide events, including Ducey’s second inauguration and the memorial service for U.S. Sen. John McCain. During her career in public service, she also directed government relations for the Maricopa County Community College District, connecting policy priorities to institutional and student needs.
Beyond her day job, Wallace invests in Arizona’s cultural and civic life. She is chair of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, serves on the advocacy committee of Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council, sits on the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation board, and is a previous board member of Read Better Be Better. These roles reflect her view that leadership is grounded in service to community—and that education, arts and culture, youth development are essential ways to strengthen it.Â
Dawn is a graduate of Arizona State University. She and her husband, Andy, live in north central Phoenix with their daughter, Finn, a high-school senior, a dog named Boo, and a Russian tortoise called Deuce Lutui.  Â
About the Flinn FoundationÂ
The Flinn Foundation is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025. As the oldest private foundation in Arizona, its mission is to improve the quality of life for all Arizonans. Through strategic investments and programs, the Foundation advances the state’s bioscience ecosystem, supports arts and culture, develops civic leadership—including the Flinn-Brown Fellowship—and offers the prestigious Flinn Scholars merit scholarship to help Arizona’s most talented students pursue higher education in-state.