Education and Life After Gymnastics
Dawes attended Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland and Gaithersburg High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where she was the 1994 prom queen. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2002.
Pursuing a career in acting, modeling, and television production, she has appeared in Prince's music video "Betcha By Golly Wow" and Missy Elliott's 2006 video "We Run This" in the role of Missy's gymnastics coach. Dawes also briefly appeared on Broadway in a revival of the musical Grease, playing cheerleader Patty Simcox.
Dawes served as President of the Women's Sports Federation from 2004–2006; she was the youngest President in the Foundation's history. She was the first spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of the USA's "Uniquely Me" self-esteem campaign in 2002. Dawes, whose younger brother is autistic, has also supported events for autism awareness, such as the 2001 Power of One rally in Washington D.C.. She is presently on the Advisory Board of Sesame Workshop's "Healthy Habits for Life" program and also works as a motivational speaker, concentrating on youth issues. In June 2010, President Obama appointed Dawes to be co-chair of the newly renamed President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, along with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
She provided commentary for Yahoo's coverage of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
On October 28, 2010, Dawes began working for Yahoo Weekend News and CFI's investigative arm IIG to investigate Power Balance Bracelets for their claim that they improve balance, flexibility and strength. She states "The fact is, all athletes know that nothing can replace good old-fashioned hard work – practice, practice, practice...Can a silicone wristband with a hologram sticker really give you an added edge?" In the trial four bracelets were taped so no participant knew if the bracelet they were wearing contained the Power Balance hologram. One bracelet was the control with no hologram, another contained only a PEZ candy. From Wendy Hughes report "The claim was that if the hologram worked, the speed of the participants would increase, and it would show on the graph. But it didn't. Out of 64 heats, 16 participants using 4 bracelets in 4 random heats, the results were almost flat. The main result was that if there was any change, the familiarity with the course caused a slight increase in efficiency. The Pez didn't make a difference either." Dawes's conclusion is that superstition makes the Power Bracelet work.
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