Bio & Mission
Hi there~ I'm Miranda Dawn!
I live in Austin, Texas, near my family, and feel fortunate to see my sister, nieces, nephews, and parents daily in Austin, TX. My journey to becoming a counselor has been unique. I initially earned a BBA in Business Entrepreneurship, where I gained valuable skills in helping others bring their ideas to life. I then became a life coach, specializing in simplifying the overwhelm of life and bringing meaning and manageability to my clients' experiences. I particularly enjoy supporting families and individuals in navigating grief, loss, life transitions, and difficult conversations. Currently, I primarily work as a Life Coach and Psychotherapist for teens and young adults, ages 13-25, and their families. This is a population I am deeply passionate about and find great purpose in serving.
Additionally, I have a career in traveling internationally as a touring singer-songwriter with my husband in our folk duo, Dawn & Hawkes. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, book clubs, family photos, tacos, and sunsets, and I laugh (loudly) at “dad jokes”. I believe the companionship of a good dog can enhance anyone's life, which is why my 9-year-old pup, "Roadie," always travels by my side. I look forward to getting to know you!
Chapters of my journey
Below you'll find a summary of pivotal events in my journey.
These experiences have deeply expanded my passion and ability to be in the waiting space with others in the labors of creating their dreams. In my treasured roles as a Coach & Therapist, I get to be a championing witness, daily, to the transformational ability of the resilient, brilliant, creative human spirit in all of us.
2002
Served as the Program Director at the Girls Empowerment Network of Austin, where I provided curriculum and training for "clubGEN," a peer-mentorship after-school program for teen girls.
2005
Trained as a licensed massage therapist, and after completing business school, I utilized my experience to provide HR & Business Development Consulting for Spas & Wellness Centers.
2006
Founded and directed an award-winning Summer empowerment camp for 250 young women, ages 9-13, in Austin, TX, CampSHE.
2007
Graduated from St. Edward's University with a BBA in Business Entrepreneurship and a minor in Cultural Communication.
2008
In my early twenties, I discovered my husband (now ex) was having a shocking affair. I experienced the grief and eventual rebirth that can happen after an unexpected loss of love. This heartbreak provided an opportunity for self-discovery & growth. Wanting to emerge with stronger wings, I first needed to go deep into my internal cocoon. I closed one chapter and began to write a new one. I emerged ready for adventure and chose travel as my path to discovering more about my unique skills, values, and dreams. Looking back, I believe I was learning to trust myself, fine-tune my intuition, and embrace the unknown. I was sharpening my ability to listen to my intuition and hear my Soul's Calling, and I found purpose and healing in the craft of songwriting and touring as a performing songwriter.
2010
Inspired by my transformational travel experiences, I became the Community Relations Director for Cultural Embrace, a company creating customized experiential travel programs for volunteering, teaching, & working abroad. This was a fun place to learn about facilitating authentic experiences- through educational, humanitarian, and cultural activities.
2011
In a chance encounter while dancing, I serendipitously met my sweet soul-mate and now Husband, Chris Hawkes. We began songwriting and internationally touring together as Dawn & Hawkes. Highlights of our music career include: performing throughout the United States, Denmark, Germany, and Australia. No. 25 on Billboard's Folk chart and No. 2 on iTunes singer-songwriter albums. We performed as a duo in Season Six of NBC's The Voice and have showcased at festivals, including Austin City Limits, Folk Alliance, AmericanaFest, South By Southwest, and TEDx. We're known for our heartfelt lyrics, and during COVID began hosting virtual personalized love song sessions for couples.
2015
At the height of our touring season, I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease that immobilized my ability to walk without pain and caused intermittent inflamed joint and skin pain. This sent me on a mission to find self-healing. I turned inward to hear my body's wisdom and began deepening my intuitive listening abilities. This journey led to training in Intuitive Studies with Bree Melanson, Reiki energy healing with Amy Mazeski, and Clinical Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) with Jackie Viramontez. Today while in sessions with clients, I can utilize my intuition and bring a full tool bag of deep listening modalities. I am happy to share that a combination of Eastern, western, and naturopathic treatments has allowed a full recovery and remission of my once limiting illness
Expanding my knowledge of the emotional mind+body connection led me to create The Songhealing Method, an expressive arts therapy that gives emotions and memories a voice in song. This guided method has been utilized collaboratively (in coaching, retreats, workshops, and therapy circles) to honor, witness and express emotions and provide an experience facilitating empathy, deep listening, and reflection.
2017
Through these years, my professional career also included team roles at tech companies, Bumble and Apple. Of all these adventures, one of my favorite experiences in the last decade was building my humble dream home in Austin, Texas.
2018
Trained with a wonderful cohort of life coaches at BYCA and became an Internationally Certified Soul Purpose Life Coach.
Served as a Compassionate Leadership Coach at The Compassion Code Academy, where I nurtured business and client growth while helping develop educational coaching & training programs in grief support, rediscovering light after loss, self-compassion, compassionate communication, emotional intelligence & leadership coaching.
2020
Joined Barb Steinberg's Team and trained as a Teen Life Coach. Today I help the teens I coach with overcoming self-doubt so they can shine their inner light with confidence, compassion, and a clear vision. I support girls and parents in all life areas, including school stress and academic pressure, decision-making, friendship challenges, body image & self-acceptance, dating, family relationship challenges, future and life goals, pressure from themselves and others, self-destructive behavior, and negative feelings about self.
2021
My journey has had many valleys and peaks, including walking through the complicated grief of unexplained infertility. After years on this path, I changed course, accepted fate, and whole heartedly embraced being everyone's favorite Auntie. This experience has allowed me to offer a broader sense of a mothering role that author Glennon Doyle describes as a "floodlight rather than a laser beam" of mothering light. I aim to shine this nurturing light on my ever-expanding community of nieces and nephews, neighbors, clients, and their families.
2022
I completed my Masters in Clinical Mental Counseling & Psychotherapy at Adam's State University in Colorado. My therapeutic approach is person-centered and includes aspects of EFT, CBT, and DBT. I specialize in treating teens and young adults struggling with anxiety & depression, complex trauma & attachment disorders, grief & challenging life transitions, chronic pain, OCD & BFRB, and overcoming limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns.
In my continued studies, I have developed a passion for Interpersonal neurobiology, which combines insights from neuroscience, psychology, and various other disciplines to understand how relationships shape and influence the brain. It emphasizes the importance of social connections in human development, mental health, and well-being. IPNB explores how the brain changes in response to social interactions and highlights the significance of attachment, empathy, and communication in shaping our neural pathways.
Utilizing these tools and approaches, I am able to creatively adapt to each individual client and support them in developing greater empathy, self-awareness, and emotional regulation, ultimately promoting healthier and more meaningful connections with others.
2024
Today, these personal experiences have deeply expanded my passion and ability to be in the waiting space with others in the labors of creating their dreams.
My unique collection of chapters has taught me the value of compassionately holding space for wholeness. Often this includes pivoting after a loss of hopes, dreams, and expectations. I know what it feels like to celebrate milestones big and small and to find light in the darkness before the dawn of a new day.
In my treasured roles as a Therapist and Soul Purpose Life Coach, I am a championing witness daily to the transformational ability of the resilient, brilliant, creative human spirit in all of us. I appreciate your interest in my work and curiosity about my many paths! I look forward to meeting you and learning about your journey here.