NAPLES, FL, April 02, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Elysia Dawn has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

A prominent figure in the arts industry, Ms. Dawn serves as a member of the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, a 15-member advisory council appointed to advise the Secretary of State regarding cultural grant funding and on matters pertaining to arts and culture in Florida. She was appointed to the council in 2024 by then Senate President, Senator Kathleen Passidomo.

She is simultaneously serving as the chief executive officer of United Arts Collier (UAC), the official Local Arts Agency (LAA) for Collier County. Her management is marked by a commitment to fostering arts education, advocacy, events, and special programs for the betterment of the community. As the state-recognized LAA for Collier County, UAC serves all the arts for all of Collier, providing many of their arts education and offerings at low or no cost to their community partners and public. The organization supports underserved communities as well as both emerging and established artists—ranging from painters and filmmakers to sculptors, poets, musicians, and dancers. Their arts programs focus not only on the creation and presentation of art, but also how the arts are integral to important facets of life, noting they improve educational as well as health outcomes, and recognizing the therapeutic benefits of the arts for at-risk youth, veterans, and individuals with Alzheimer's, dementia and Parkinson's disease. UAC also conducts economic impact studies in collaboration with Americans for the Arts and Florida Gulf Coast University, demonstrating how the arts contribute significantly to strengthening the economy.

Prior to her promotion to CEO in 2025, Ms. Dawn served as United Arts Collier's executive director from 2022 to 2025. During her tenure with UAC, she been instrumental in launching significant projects such as the Naples International Dance Festival and the Collier Arts Archive, which is preserving and promoting the rich history of Collier's arts in partnership with Florida Humanities and in collaboration with various arts organizations and artists, local officials, historical societies, tribes, and philanthropists. Ms. Dawn is a frequently requested public speaker on the arts and her dedicated leadership has met with numerous accolades including being inducted into Leadership Collier, named in Naples Illustrated's "The Naples 100" recognizing Collier County's most influential business leaders, and featured in Gulfshore Life as among the "Defenders of the Gulf."

Ms. Dawn's career in the arts began as a professional ballet dancer with The Washington Ballet performing at the Kennedy Center. She went on to dance with Boston Ballet and was selected as one of two dancers to perform with the legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. She also fulfilled her dream of dancing principal performances around the world with companies including Complexions Contemporary Ballet, travelling throughout North America, Cyprus, Europe, Israel, New Zealand, South America and many more places. Her dancing also led her to appearances in film and television and she has been an active member of the Screen Actors Guild since 2007.

An unfortunate injury caused Ms. Dawn to step back from the stage and reflect on her future goals, leading her to pivot to pursuing higher education. Her accomplished academic background includes a Master of Science in nonprofit management as well as a Bachelor of Arts in art history and business management from Columbia University. While at the University, Ms. Dawn received multiple leadership and community service awards for founding the Ivy Ballet Exchange and Columbia Ballet Collaborative's outreach program. Since graduating, she has been invited back to the school as a panel speaker and has served on the General Studies Alumni Association Board.

Ms. Dawn's career in arts leadership began at The Metropolitan Museum of Art where she held various roles from 2015 to 2020, including Program Associate for MetLiveArts. At The Met, Mr. Dawn spearheaded and curated their dance performances, managing the first solo Artist in Residency at the museum to be given to a choreographer or a woman. While at The Met, Ms. Dawn simultaneously worked with a team to annually present hundreds of live arts programs across multiple Met Museum venues including The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Cloisters, and The Met Breuer. She gained additional valuable management experience while serving as the Artistic Coordinator for the Florence Dance Festival at the Museo Nazionale del Bargello and running her own consulting firm from 2020 to 2022 during which time she acted as the Fundraising Director for GALLIM.

Outside her professional life, Ms. Dawn enjoys a variety of activities such as beach walks and exploring all of Collier County's vast offerings, ballroom dancing, dining, travelling, Pilates, and spending quality time with her friends and family. Though she has already accomplished a great deal for her community and the arts, she continues to strive for a future in which Collier County's rich arts and cultural history can serve as a model for other regions to celebrate and recognize the value and positive impact of the arts within their communities.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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