About Our Special Guests
Frisco Women’s League is pleased to announce the Honorary Chair for the 2012 Mother & Daughter Tea: Dawn Neufeld.
Dawn Neufeld is a multi-faceted woman with a heart for her family and children. A native Californian, Dawn was bitten by the acting bug at a young age. Her early training with the Al Fann Theatrical Ensemble and Kevin McDermott’s Center Stage L.A. helped her land roles in several television shows and plays. Although Dawn took a break from the industry during junior high and high school to focus on academics and sports, her love for acting never went away.
During college, Dawn balanced her academic pursuits with modeling and acting. She developed an interest in media and journalism and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies with a Women’s Studies minor from UCLA while working as a campus lifeguard. She went on to earn a law degree from the UC Davis School of Law and is licensed to practice in both California (2002) and Texas (2009). Dawn practiced law at the Los Angeles firm Ivie, McNeill & Wyatt for a year before moving to Buffalo, New York where her husband Ryan played for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills. While in Buffalo, Dawn reconnected with her love for all things acting when she joined the Frank Rossi Studio and began taking acting lessons. When the Neufelds moved home to Frisco, Texas in 2008, Dawn dove head first into the local television waters while re-establishing her legal career.
Dawn was a cast member on VH1’s Football Wives. She is the host of D210 TV (www.d210.tv), a show featuring the latest in entertainment and sports. Dawn also co-hosted The Bite, a weekly cutting-edge entertainment show broadcast in high-volume restaurant chains nation-wide. She is also featured in a series of Smart Tips found on the Food Network. When not in front of the camera, Dawn is a corporate attorney with Graham, Bright & Smith in Dallas.
Dawn competed in the 2011 Mrs. Texas America pageant where she finished 3rd runner-up. She championed autism awareness as her platform.
During her spare time, Dawn enjoys spending time with her husband and children, Will and Bryn, and participating in her favorite charities – Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation and the Layla Grace Foundation. Dawn is also a member of the Junior League of Dallas and is an active participant and former board member of Off the Field, the national football wives association. Wrapping up her philanthropic duties, Dawn was the publicity chair for the Silver Dollar Ball benefitting the American Cancer Society.
Frisco Women’s League is also pleased to announce that special guest Jordan Johannsen, Miss Frisco 2012, will be joining us this year!
Mistress of ceremonies
Frisco Women’s League is pleased to announce this year’s mistress of ceremonies: WFAA Reporter Rebecca Lopez.
Rebecca Lopez is a general assignment reporter since 1995. She has worked for both Dallas and Fort Worth WFAA bureaus. She has been the lead reporter on several big stories including the Pope’s trip to Mexico City and the Timothy McVeigh execution.
Before coming to Channel 8, Rebecca worked as a police and investigative reporter at KPNX in Phoenix. She’s also worked as a reporter/weekend anchor at KXAN in Austin, a reporter/morning anchor at KZTV in Corpus Christi and started her career as a reporter at KTPX (now KWES) in Midland in 1988.
In September 2000, she was nominated for an Emmy for “Best Series” on Juvenile Drug Smugglers. Rebecca also won 3 Emmy Awards for her story on a truck hostage and for her series on methamphetamine labs. In July 2000, Rebecca won a first place award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists for her story, Juvenile Drug Smugglers, beating out stories from CNN and NBC’s Dateline.
Rebecca has covered Dallas Police stories for 7 years. Throughout her career, she has covered some major stories including the Oklahoma City bombing, the siege at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco and the Space Shuttle Colombia disaster.
Rebecca graduated from the University of North Texas in Denton.
When she’s not working, Rebecca and son, Jacob like traveling and participating in events in the community. They live in DeSoto.
Rebecca believes dreams do come true her goal in college was to work at Channel 8.
