Dawa first became involved with CCARE in 2010 completing her training in 2014. She is committed to offering Compassion Cultivation to diverse and underserved communities. In collaboration with the Buddhist Prison Project, Dawa teaches Compassion Meditation at Solano State Prison. Dawa regularly offers CCT courses open to the public at the Berkeley Dzogchen Community and collaborates with the East Bay CCT ongoing group. Dawa offers ‘Into the Heart of Compassion,’ a 1 or 2 day intensive and introductory talks.

Dawa has been a student of Tibetan Buddhism over 35 years and completed the traditional Tibetan Buddhist three-year retreat under the guidance of Kalu Rinpoche in 1985, receiving the title of Lama. Following her retreat she moved to Hawaii where she collaborated with Paleaku Peace Gardens and Meditation Center. In 1988 begun her 25 year career in social services working for the State of Hawaii in Child Protective Services and then for Alameda County Social Services.