Dawn Rowe, PhD is the Founder of Girl Vow, Inc., an intensive mentoring organization for girls and gender-expansive youth impacted by juvenile justice, foster care, and poverty.

She has interrupted suicide attempts and mentored girls impacted by incarceral systems in New York State, psych wards, and hospitals, who are marred by failure and suffer from bouts of emotional trauma and abuse since 2015.

Through her leadership,  Girl Vow serves more than 4,000 women and girls annually with multifaceted programming. In 2021, Dr. Rowe wrote legislation to address the invisible issues of missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls of color.

As a result, the work of the Taskforce for Missing and Murdered BIPOC Women and Girls of Color became law on March 26th, 2024.

Her experiences elevate Dr. Rowe’s work as a suicidal high school dropout who dealt with multiple unresolved traumas growing up. No one believed in her.  For this, she leads with a servant's heart to fortify and avail girls the way mentors did her.

Dr. Rowe is a John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty member, researcher, empowerment speaker, and former Vice President of a prominent New York non-profit.

She has a deep background in the criminal justice sector, working with abused children within child welfare and failed systems.

Dawn holds dual Bachelor's degrees in Deviant Behavior and Criminology, two Master’s degrees in Sociology, and a Master's of Science in higher education administration with a Doctorate. Dawn was named Power Woman of The Bronx in 2023 and an Unsung Hero of  2024. 

Dr. Rowe has been recognized by the New York State Attorney General’s Office for her work in domestic violence and community leadership. She has received several proclamations from New York State Senators and Assemblymembers and earned leadership awards from various institutions. Madam Noire and Hello Beautiful named her one of the #SPEAKER 50 dynamic black women and femmes in politics, advocacy, and journalism. In 2023, she was honored by Schneps Media as a Power Women of the Bronx. In 2024, with a grateful heart, Dr. Rowe was named an Unsung Champion of Advocacy.