Dawn Nelson joins Guidepost as a managing director, leveraging over 30 years of distinguished federal service to guide clients through complex immigration issues. Her extensive background includes leadership roles in law enforcement, fraud prevention, complex investigations, cross-sector collaborations, and international policy development, all of which provide invaluable insight for clients navigating intricate immigration and compliance matters.
As a Special Agent within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Ms. Nelson led strategic planning initiatives, operational reforms, and interagency coordination efforts. She designed and implemented a multiyear strategic plan that became the standard for similar divisions and led national enforcement strategy development, including reporting to Congress on major enforcement efforts. Her leadership extended to managing multimillion-dollar budgets, supervising high-performing teams, driving intergovernmental engagement with executive stakeholders, and leading collaboration with private industry. Her initiative brought together competitors in key industries to drive enforcement efforts and led to measurable increases in arrests, indictments, and convictions.
Ms. Nelson began her career as an Assistant District Counsel with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). After transitioning to a Special Agent, and subsequently a Supervisory Special Agent for the INS, Ms. Nelson focused on investigations involving fraud, as well as human smuggling and trafficking. As Chief of the HSI’s Identity and Benefit Fraud Unit, she provided programmatic oversight to national investigative efforts focused on fraud, implemented a risk-based management model, and expanded task force operations nationwide. Her efforts strengthened the integrity of the immigration identification and benefit issuance processes and earned national recognition for innovation and impact.
Throughout her career, Ms. Nelson has been recognized for advancing operational effectiveness, strategic innovation, and cross-functional collaboration. Her ability to integrate legal, policy, and enforcement perspectives allows her to deliver practical solutions for clients facing complex regulatory and security challenges.
Ms. Nelson holds a Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Justice from American University. She is also a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s Criminal Investigator Training Program.
