Sumner has presented lectures to public and school groups, and she has participated in videos and films on exploring Mars.  These have included presentations at Sierra College, a Northern California Rotary Club, and Sacramento State University's Science in the River City. She appeared in several videos on Mars exploration, including ones hosted by UC Davis and in the Finnish documentary film “The Other Side of Mars”.
Dawn Sumner's research has been covered in local and national media outlets, including Popular Science, Wired Magazine, KPCC public radio, the television series Take Part, and the BBC.