Berkshire Community Development was founded to meet the unique housing and community development needs of Berkshire County.

Dawn has taken on challenging tasks and managed them with visionary leadership and impressive execution. Her leadership, dedication, and commitment are exceptional, and our community is better because of her.

I have been providing Housing Rehab Consultant services to several Cities, Towns, and Non-profit Organizations throughout Massachusetts over the past 25-plus years, and have worked with Housing Rehab Coordinators, Community Development Directors, Housing Directors, and Program Managers throughout the State of Massachusetts, and without question, Dawn Odell Lemon rates among the top 1 percent of them all.

Thank you, Dawn! I am amazed at how incredibly efficient and on time this process is. Working with Dawn has been an absolute pleasure. She facilitated everything we needed and the project turned out perfect. This was never anything I could have done on my own, due to the scale and cost. We hope that this project will be an example to other people in our community of how amazing it is to work with BCD. Every day, I am just astounded at the change in our home!! And we definitely could not have done it without all your help!

As a recipient of the CDBG program, I have had such a wonderful experience – the ease of application, and understanding of the parameters have been perfectly clear, and most importantly it's brought me some peace of mind...and it's made me feel pretty taken care of as a member of the community.

Dawn's focus and attention to detail have so impressed me...and [I] have been struck by both her compassion and professionalism when communicating with both homeowners and General Contractors. Their respect for her translates into an open dialogue between all parties, providing an effective use of funds which meet program guidelines, set homeowner expectations and allows the Housing Rehab Specialist the ability to clearly outline the scope of work to all parties. I have worked on hundreds of Housing Rehab projects with multiple agencies in Massachusetts, and Dawn's style and work ethic stand out as one of the best. Her drive to perform efficiently and provide only the best project for each and every homeowner are infectious and inspiring.

Dawn's profound dedication to her work in this field is apparent and unmistakable with regards to the time she spends with her clients – providing them support, working with them on documentation, and helping them discover whether or not they are qualified to participate in the programs available. She expresses caring, willingness to help, and provides reinforcement in any way that she can. Many times I have seen her go above and beyond her duties, because that is the kind of person she is. Her attention to detail, her organization, and overall competence in working with her clients to help them subsidize a large unexpected expense is exceptional. She is intelligent, warm, friendly, and has a way of making people feel comfortable in general. She makes a difficult process effortless for her clients, as well as the contractors and companies that she is collaborating with.