Dawn Marie Simms was born in New York City .  Her family moved to Las Vegas where she attended John C. Fremont Jr. High and Las Vegas High School.  She attended Mills College in Oakland, California.  Dawn also received a Master's Degree from Holy Names College.

She was pro-education, pro-women, and an advocate for the strike in 1990 to keep Mills a college for women. She was also committed to her volunteer work as a Mills admissions representative in Nevada. Her widower, Dr. Robert Grzywacz, said, "There wasn't a year that went by that she didn't contribute to the College". He describes her as a multi-faceted "renaissance woman". After graduating from Mills, Dawn pursued studies in food history and technique in Europe. She applied her interest in chemistry, history, art, and social sciences to classes she taught in cooking technique, attended by students who later became chefs in top Bay Area restaurants. She was active in an international organization of leading chefs.

An accomplished chef, she acted as guest chef for many fundraisers.  Dawn also taught and guest lectured throughout her culinary career.