A veteran of two decades in public safety, English was responsible for the management of Georgia's 10 regional police academies during his tenure with the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Council. This past summer, he became one of the nation's first recipients of a master's degree in Homeland Security under a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and conducted by the Naval Postgraduate School.

Dawson began his career with GEMA in 1998 as medical trainer in the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Section, and then as operations support manager, responsible for the operational readiness of GEMA's State Operations Center.

Dawson left briefly to head the Georgia Department of Transportation's HERO program, and then returned to GEMA as field operations director. Prior to joining GEMA, Dawson served for 20 years as an officer in the U.S. Army Medical Department. Dawson is a graduate of Georgia State University, and has done graduate work at Webster University and Central Michigan University.