Dawn Neal started practicing in 2004, and has cumulatively devoted several years to silent retreat. In 2010, her Burmese teacher asked her to teach through the lens of metta. She serves as the Guiding Teacher for Insight Santa Cruz, and as faculty for the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies Online Buddhist Chaplaincy Training.  She offers both residential and online retreats.

She completed Dharma teacher training with Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella in 2025. Before teaching full time, Dawn was a professional Interfaith Chaplain at Stanford Medicine. Her writing appears in Buddhist Studies journals and Refuge in the Storm, an anthology. Dawn loves supporting practitioners to deepen and broaden their wisdom, meditative stability, and integration. She offers teachings to support greater love, liberation, and peace in our hearts and the world.

Dawn remains a dedicated student and practitioner of the Dharma. For more information, see her website, liberatingdharma.org.