Dawn Nielsen is the Director of Externships and an Associate Professor-in-Residence at the William S. Boyd School of Law, where she connects students with experiential learning opportunities throughout the legal community in Nevada and beyond, and teaches courses related to those experiences.   

A Boyd alumna and licensed Nevada attorney, Professor Nielsen has built her career at the intersection of education, service, and law.  She served as Special Assistant to UNLV President Marta Meana and previously held roles as Judicial Clerkship Advisor and Faculty Advisor for Boyd's Moot Court and Mock Trial programs. She also gained judicial experience clerking in the Eighth Judicial District Court.

As a law student, Professor Nielsen represented youth in Family Court through the Thomas & Mack Juvenile Justice Clinic and researched mental health law reform for the State of Alaska as a Research Fellow to Professor Sara Gordon. A native Nevadan, she holds both a J.D. and B.A. in Psychology from UNLV.