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Dawn Cole

Dawn Cole – Chief Executive Officer

A North Country native, Dawn has 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, the past decade of which has been focused on developing programming and community initiatives to address poverty. She holds a B.A. in Public Relations / Marketing and an M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Ashford University. In addition to working in the fields of public broadcasting, academia, and tourism, Dawn served as the deputy director for Community Action Planning Council of Jefferson County (2010 – 2018) and the executive director for Watertown Urban Mission (2018 – 2022). A strong advocate of those struggling with generational poverty, Dawn is actively involved in “Bridges out of Poverty” and the “Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-by World” workshop series and is co-chair of the North Country Bridges Steering Committee. When not working, she enjoys goofing off with her husband Rick, a transplant from the Greater Toronto Area, and their needy but oh-so-loveable rescue dog Duke.


Clement Wong

Clement Wong – Director of Finance

Clement was born in Hong Kong and attended boarding school in England beginning at age of 15 in Reading, about 50 miles west of London. After college, he completed his accounting qualification while working full time and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountant since 2011. Clement spent most of his career, 18 years, working in London at various accounting firms, mostly as an auditor. He moved to Watertown, NY full time in 2016. Moving to the United States with his husband, a native of Watertown, Clement welcomed the change from busy London to a quieter life in the beauty of the North Country. He is an avid traveler, been to most countries in Europe and South East Asia. Clement currently resides in Watertown with his dog, Darcy, and spends most of his time updating his house. His interests include music, golf and cooking. Clement is an advisory member for the Orchestra of Northern New York and member of Watertown Noon Rotary.


Rachel Burt

Rachel Burt – Director of Marketing / Communications

A native of Upstate New York, Rachel worked as a reporter covering various beats at the Watertown Daily Times for three years before joining the United Way of Northern New York in October 2022. Prior to becoming a journalist, she attended Binghamton University and received a bachelor’s degree in English, and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University for a master’s degree in the Magazine, Newspaper and Online Journalism program. When she’s not working or cleaning up after Luna (her hairball of a cat), she enjoys spending time with friends and family, catching up on reading and shows, trying new restaurants and traveling.