Dawn Wink

Dawn Wink, Ph.D., is an educator, writer, and transdisciplinary scholar currently serving as Academic Director of the Department of Teacher Education at Santa Fe Community College, Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is also a Faculty Mentor in the Regenerative Practices and Visionary Leadership Ph.D. Program at Southwestern College. With more than 25 years of experience in multilingual and international education, Dr. Wink integrates creative writing, ecolinguistics, and linguistic human rights into her teaching and scholarship.

Dr. Wink’s educational background spans multiple disciplines and institutions:

• Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Spanish, and German – University of California, Davis
• Master of Arts in Crosscultural and Bilingual Leadership – California State University, Sacramento
• Ph.D. in Transformative Studies – California Institute of Integral Studies (focus on ecolinguistics and linguistic human rights)
• TESOL Trainer-of-Trainer certification – School for International Training, Brattleboro, VT
• English Language Specialist – U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC

Her research interests converge at the intersection of language, culture, and landscape. She explores how stories shape and are shaped by place, focusing on ecolinguistics, linguistic human rights, place-based education, and creative transdisciplinary methodologies. Dr. Wink’s work invites educators and writers to re-imagine research and pedagogy through lenses of wildness, beauty, and imagination.

In recent publications she combines scholarly personal narrative with creative research methods, extending critical literacy discussions in the American Southwest and advancing ecological approaches to language study. Her writing appears in both academic and literary venues, illustrating a seamless integration of research and creative practice.

Selected Honors & Awards:

• Women Writing the West WILLA Award for Historical Fiction (Finalist)
• High Plains Book Award for Woman Writer (Finalist)
• New Mexico / Arizona Book Awards for Historical Fiction (Finalist)

Dr. Wink regularly presents nationally and internationally on pedagogy, teacher education, creative writing, ecolinguistics, and research methods. Through her dual roles at Santa Fe Community College and Southwestern College she mentors emerging scholars and educators, fostering regenerative leadership practices that honor language, culture, and place.

Living in Santa Fe with her family, she draws daily inspiration from high-desert sunrises and sunsets, cultivating gardens and stories that celebrate the beauty and complexity of the Southwest.