Dawn Elmore was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario and currently resides in Goulais River, Ontario on the north shore of Lake Superior near Sault Ste. Marie. She loves the outdoors and is an active volunteer with the Voyageur Trail Association, a hiking club dedicated to developing and maintaining a continuous hiking trail for public use across Northern Ontario, from Manitoulin Island to Thunder Bay.

Dawn graduated from the University of Guelph with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Biology, and currently acts as Academic Development and Project Coordinator at Algoma University, facilitating new program development and writing grant proposals.

Since relocating back to northern Ontario in 2004, Dawn and her husband Kirk have enjoyed exploring the wilderness north of Superior from their home base on the Goulais River. World-class hiking, canoeing, and snowshoeing are all located minutes from home. In 2006, Dawn won first-place in an essay contest focusing on "why young people should live and work in northern Ontario". In 2007, outdoor activities took a backseat as Dawn and Kirk welcomed the arrival of their first son, Wesley Shea White. The family looks forward to raising Wesley in a part of Canada with unprecedented natural beauty.