Dr. Dawson Taylor became a Turtle in the Fall of 2006 and thereafter was. elected to the Board of Directors and served as chairperson. Now, in his first season back after being away for 11 years, Dawson has returned to the Turtle Creek Choraleas Executive Director.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Taylor has served as Designated Minister of Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ in Bethesda, Maryland, Senior Minister of Naples United Church of Christ in Naples, Florida and Executive Minister of Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ in Dallas. In addition to his return to Turtle Creek Chorale, Dr. Taylor has returned to Cathedral of Hope where he serves as Associate Pastor for Church Growth and Strategy.

Dr. Taylor holds degrees from Centenary College of Louisiana, Southern Methodist University and Chicago Theological Seminary. Dawson seeks to give back and currently serves as a Trustee of Chicago Theological Seminary and has previously been a director on numerous not-for-profit organizations including Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida as well as GLSEN-Collier County.

Dr. Taylor was named by Gulfshore Business in its annual class of 40 Under 40 and his alma mater, Centenary College, presented him with the Bentley Sloane Alumni Award. Additionally, GLSEN-Collier named him their Advocate of the Year. Dr. Taylor has been a featured guest on the podcast One Spark at a Time and the documentary film Compelling Love and Sexual Identity: Connecting Beyond Tolerance. He was also a contributor to Rise Up: Spirituality for Resistance (The Pilgrim Press, 2017) and in 2021, Dr. Taylor was honored to deliver the address at the 196th commencement of Lancaster Seminary.

Dawson enjoys traveling and time with family, especially his five nieces and nephews. And of course, he is always entertained by his Chocolate Labrador, Max.