Dawn Sweeney
President & CEO
National Restaurant Association
As president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association, Dawn Sweeney leads the chief business association for the restaurant industry. She also serves as the CEO of the National Restaurant Association's Educational Foundation. Prior to this, Sweeney was president and CEO of AARP Services, where she was previously AARP's Group Executive Officer for Membership and was responsible for member recruitment/retention, as well as AARP The Magazine. Her 25 years of marketing, advocacy and policy experience include leadership positions at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the International Dairy Foods Association. In 2009, she was named one of the top association CEOs in the country by "CEO Update" magazine. She was also inducted into the Honor Society of the American Culinary Federation's American Academy of Chefs. Sweeney serves as an active member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Committee of 100, the International Women's Forum, and on the Committee of 200. Sweeney has a master's degree in business administration from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Colby College.
