Dr. Dawn Apgar is currently Director/Assistant Professor at Seton Hall University and oversees its undergraduate (BSW) social work program. She is the Assistant Chairperson of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work, and Criminal Justice. Dr. Apgar has extensive direct practice, policy, and management experience in the human services field. She served as Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services from 2000-2017. In this position, she oversaw the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI), and the Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DDHH). At that time, DHS had an $11 billion annual budget and over 15,000 employees. Dr. Apgar has also been an Assistant Professor at Marywood University and the Director of the Developmental Disabilities Planning Institute which is currently at the The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.

Dr. Apgar has done research on licensure funded by the American Foundation for research and Consumer Education in Social Work Regulation and served for many years as the chairperson of the New Jersey Board of Social Work Examiners. Dr. Apgar has written extensively on issues impacting social work education and professional practice. She is a past President of the New Jersey Chapter of NASW and has been on its National Board of Directors. In 2014, the Chapter presented her with a Lifetime Achievement Award and the Academic of the Year in 2020-2021.