I help service-industry leaders turn operational knowledge into practical systems, intelligent workflows, and AI-ready organizations.
The real challenge
They have a readiness gap.
The distance between knowing AI matters and knowing what to do next is where momentum stalls. I help leaders close that gap with a clear strategy, grounded training, and systems their people can actually use.
A practical path forward
The SmartCare ecosystem connects the method, the system, and the human guidance required to make change stick.
The methodology
A practical methodology that helps service organizations continuously adopt AI, improve operations, and build organizational intelligence.
The operating system
A business improvement operating system for garment care, designed to work alongside existing POS systems and help owners lead with better information.
Work with Dawn
I work with associations, small and midsize businesses, and service-industry leaders who need more than another AI presentation. They need a way forward.
Ongoing strategic guidance for leaders navigating AI decisions, readiness, governance, and growth.
Strategy sessions · Roadmaps · Executive advisoryPractical, role-relevant learning that moves teams from uncertainty to confident, responsible use.
Leadership training · Team workshops · AI readinessClear, energizing sessions that make AI understandable, relevant, and actionable for real audiences.
Keynotes · Panels · Conferences · Board sessionsTurning operational expertise into intelligent workflows, decision support, and repeatable systems.
Workflow design · Knowledge systems · SmartCare OSDawn Hargrove-Avery
My work connects association leadership, AI readiness, knowledge systems, and practical implementation. The goal is to help leaders build capacity and make better decisions without becoming the bottleneck.
The authority
AI Specialist, Chief AI Officer, AI Consultant, trainer, speaker, and builder with deep service-industry operating experience.
Executive Director and Chief AI Officer of the National Cleaners Association, connecting member needs with practical AI leadership.
AI workforce design, role-specific agents, clear permissions, knowledge systems, and practical implementation support.
Role-relevant education that helps teams build confidence, judgment, and responsible AI habits.
Keynotes, panels, and leadership sessions that make AI understandable and actionable.
Transformation grounded in the realities of customer service, operations, associations, and small and midsize businesses.
A separate platform created by Dawn
SmartCareOS.com remains the dedicated destination for the SmartCare Method, SmartCare OS platform, tools, workflows, training, and implementation experience.
Visit SmartCare OSApplied, not theoretical
DryCleanAI demonstrates what the larger SmartCare vision looks like when deep industry expertise and practical AI implementation meet.
“Dawn’s ability to make complex AI concepts understandable and practical has dramatically improved our efficiency and bottom line.”
J’s Clean Up Service
“Her specialized AI expertise, deep industry knowledge, and approachable style made the transition seamless.”
Packard Square Cleaners
Meet Dawn
I am not an AI theorist looking into service industries from the outside.
I am an executive, operator, trainer, and builder who has led transformation while managing the realities of members, customers, teams, budgets, and change.
As Executive Director and Chief AI Officer of the National Cleaners Association, I bring together deep service-industry experience and practical AI leadership. I am the creator and owner of SmartCare OS™ and the creator of the SmartCare Method. My work focuses on organizational readiness, preserving institutional knowledge, and designing AI-supported workflows with people in the lead.
Under Dawn Hargrove-Avery’s leadership, the National Cleaners Association was named a Finalist in the 2026 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business in the category Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit – 10 or Less Employees. Its recognized entry is “National Cleaners Association: Transforming Member Value Through AI and Operational Innovation.” NCA will receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award, with its placement announced November 16, 2026.
Dawn is named to CINET’s 2027 Advisory Board, connecting her practical AI and association leadership with the international professional textile care community.
My 15–80–5 approach keeps leaders involved where their judgment matters: the first 15% establishes context and standards, AI supports the middle 80% of the work, and people bring the final 5% of review, voice, and accountability.
Practical frameworks
Practical guidance for clearer decisions, shared knowledge, and healthier businesses, with humans in the lead.
A Strategic Framework for Independent Dry Cleaning Operators
A practical guide to understanding operating costs, capacity, delayed decisions, and owner dependence. Includes the ORCA self-assessment and a 90-day roadmap for turning findings into action.
Published
Buy on Amazon
Business exists to improve lives.
A practical approach to building a healthier business through clear responsibilities, shared knowledge, and systems that support better decisions. Technology supports the work, with humans in the lead.
Published
Buy on AmazonAwards + Recognition + Media
Recent honors recognize my work in technology and AI leadership, alongside the National Cleaners Association’s organizational recognition. Each reflects a focus on useful implementation, stronger decisions, and human-led change.
Dawn’s personal recognition
Honorable Mention • Data & AI Leadership
Dawn Hargrove-Avery received an Honorable Mention in Data & AI Leadership for her practical application of AI in garment care, including work through the National Cleaners Association and SmartCare OS.
View official recognitionDawn’s personal recognition
Platinum Winner • Technology
Dawn Hargrove-Avery earned Platinum recognition in the Technology category of the 2026 Claro Awards.
View the Claro winnersNCA organizational recognition
NCA Finalist under Dawn Hargrove-Avery’s leadership
Under Dawn Hargrove-Avery’s leadership, the National Cleaners Association was named a Finalist in the 2026 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business in the category Organization of the Year – Government or Non-Profit – 10 or Less Employees. Its recognized entry is “National Cleaners Association: Transforming Member Value Through AI and Operational Innovation.” NCA will receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Award, with its placement announced November 16, 2026.
View official finalist listingRecognition status as of October 7, 2026.
International leadership · 2027
Dawn Hargrove-Avery is named to CINET’s 2027 Advisory Board, announced at the Global Best Practices Awards in Milan.
Bringing practical AI, human-led implementation, and association leadership to the international professional textile care community.
Honoring an industry legacy
Dawn Hargrove-Avery accepting Nora Nealis’s DLI Hall of Fame recognition on her behalf.
From the stage · 39 seconds
Watch Dawn Hargrove-Avery at the CINET Global Best Practices Awards in Milan, bringing a practical perspective to AI in garment care.
Invite Dawn to speakCINET · Milan · 35 seconds
“Everything is stuck in the owner's head. And you're the bottleneck.”
Where do you start with AI when there’s no IT team and no spare time? Start by getting your know-how out of your head.
When employees walk through each process with a phone, AI can turn it into clear SOPs they can refer to anytime. Your team learns faster, and you stop being the only person with the answers.
What process in your shop lives only in your head?
CINET · Milan · 18 seconds
“They don't know their data.”
Most owners aren’t short on effort. They’re short on clear answers. In Milan, Dawn explained how AI can turn a cleaner’s own numbers into plain answers about what to do next, so decisions stop being guesses.
AI brings the answers. Humans stay in the lead.
Do you know your numbers well enough to make your next big decision?
Featured video
Watch Dawn share the experience, values, and perspective behind her leadership.
Watch on VimeoMy contribution to CINET’s Global Professional Textile Care Strategy Study 2026: Roadmap to 2050, exploring how technology is reshaping professional textile care.
Read the interview Verified profileExplore Dawn’s story, credentials, values, and perspective on leadership.
View profile Contributor featureA perspective on priorities, systems, ambition, and knowing what matters most in each season.
Read the feature LinkedInView and engage with Dawn’s Influential Women recognition post on LinkedIn.
View the postBuilt for the people doing the work
Build member value, organizational intelligence, and new models for service and growth.
Improve operations and customer experience without losing the human expertise that makes the business work.
Turn AI pressure into a responsible roadmap your people can understand and execute.
Start a conversation
You do not need to have the solution figured out. Tell me what is happening, where the work is getting stuck, and what a useful outcome would look like. I will review your inquiry and respond with the most practical next step.