Continuous Quality Improvement
Operational Excellence
Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement
Change Management
Adjunct Instructor
Research & Practice Interests
Education
MSN, Nursing Administration, Hunter Bellevue School of Nursing
BSN, Columbia University School of Nursing
Publications
- A Practical Guide to Performance Improvement: Change Acceleration Process and Techniques to Maintain Improvements
- A Practical Guide to Performance Improvement: Tools and Tips to Sustain and Control Project Improvements
- A Practical Guide to Performance Improvement: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
- A Practical Guide to Performance Improvement: Implementation of Systematic Methodologies
- A Practical Guide to Performance Improvement: Data Collection and Analysis
Teaching
Change Management
BIOGRAPHY
Mr. Dawson is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 38 years of leadership experience, most recently serving as an Executive Coach at Inspire Nurse Leaders, and Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at VNS Health of New York. Over the course of his career, he has held executive roles at New York - Presbyterian Hospital, including SVP Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Clinical Operations for Milstein Hospital and Heart Center, where he guided teams across clinical operations, patient services, and transplant programs.
With deep expertise in quality, safety, regulatory compliance, and performance improvement, Mr. Dawson is recognized for his ability to translate complex requirements into sustainable, system-wide strategies. He successfully led Lean/Six Sigma deployments in hospital operations and community health and launched transformative initiatives such as “Patient Safety Fridays,” which drove measurable improvements in outcomes across multisite operations.
An Administrative Fellow of the GE Fellows Program and a published contributor to multiple healthcare journals, Mr. Dawson is widely regarded for his strategic leadership and ability to build high-performing, cross-functional teams. He holds an MSN in Nursing Administration from Hunter College, a BSN from Columbia University, and a Diploma in General & Psychiatric Nursing from St. Michael’s Hospital in Dublin, Ireland.