Leadership
Who you actually work with
Dawn Star Consulting is deliberately small. When you engage us, you work directly with the principal — not an account manager, not a junior analyst, not a rotating bench. That is the point of the firm.
Misty Dawn Lakota
Founder & Managing Principal
Enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Her career in Indian Country public safety began as a Tribal police officer at Lower Brule. She went on to instruct at the U.S. Indian Police Academy, serve as an acting Chief of Police over 43+ personnel, and then become the primary custodian of national law enforcement policy — authoring departmental standards on evidence management, use of force, case management, arrest and prisoner transport, and law enforcement credentials across six national programs. She then planned and led the compliance reviews against those same standards.
Twenty-five years of federal law enforcement service, spanning Congressional reporting, federal audit compliance, national policy authorship, federal contracting, and intergovernmental relations. A U.S. Army combat veteran with 27 years of service, she is a Chief Warrant Officer and Senior Legal Administrator in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and deployed in support of a four-star multinational command. She served as a Contracting Officer’s Representative (U.S.) and Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative I & II (NATO).
She holds a Master of Criminal Justice and is completing a Doctorate of Executive Leadership, researching Indigenous women’s leadership in law enforcement.
Marsha Whiting
Founding Advisor — Grants & Program Strategy
Marsha helped shape Dawn Star Consulting from its very first conversation — the idea, the direction, and the name itself. She remains the firm’s closest counsel on grants and program strategy, and works engagements alongside the principal.
Chippewa Cree and Sicangu Lakota, with 20+ years of leadership within Native-controlled organizations serving urban, rural, and reservation-based communities. Through her role outside the firm she administers $14 million in annual regrants and $1.5 million in scholarship and fellowship funds, with deep experience in fundraising strategy, grants process improvement, and audit-supporting record retention.
Dawn Star Consulting, LLC is 100% owned and controlled by Misty Dawn Lakota, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Advisors and specialists are engaged by written subcontract on specific projects.
Read more about the firm, review the experience record, or book time with the founder.
Dawn Star Consulting, LLC 