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 Born
and raised in Riverside, Mark received his primary and secondary education in the Alvord
Unified School District. He graduated from La Sierra High School in 1979 as the school's
valedictorian. He wrestled and played football at the junior varsity level, but increasingly
his passion for public service and learning about politics and government took up more of
his time. In 1977, he was named by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Wilson Riles
to a statewide advisory committee on school finance equalization. He would represent students
along side representatives of other stakeholders in California's public school system in
recommending ways for the state to comply with landmark Serrano v. Priest decision by the
California Supreme Court. He would distinguish himself as a student leader, being elected
as the second ranking officer in the Junior Statesmen of America, a statewide political
education organization for high school students.
Mark moved on to Harvard College where he received his bachelor's degree in Government in
1983. During his senior year, he organized and co-founded Ride for Life, an transcontinental
bicycle ride to benefit the international development agency Oxfam America. Mark and thirty-eight
other (mostly) Harvard students rode bicycles from Seattle, Washington to Boston, Massachusetts
to raise money through pledges for Oxfam America and to raise public awareness by attracting
media attention to issue of global hunger. This project attracted the support of major U.S.
Corporations such as Ford Motor Company who supplied a support van.
Not quite ready to begin his original intention to attend law school, Mark worked for a
while in the Boston area in various public school systems as a substitute teacher. He observed
first-hand the disparity between well-funded and acclaimed suburban schools in Brookline
and the beleaguered inner-city Boston schools. Mark was troubled by the national statistics
that showed persistent gaps in academic achievement among certain ethnic and racial groups.
He was curious about what could be done to narrow those gaps. He decided he would devote
five years of his life to being a teacher as a prelude to a career in public policy instead
of going to law school.
He returned to California where he attended the University of California at Riverside School
of Education intern program to obtain his secondary teaching credential in Language Arts
and Social Studies. He interned at Arizona Middle School in the Alvord Unified School District.
He began teaching in the Rialto Unified School District in 1988 in schools that serve predominantly
Latino and African American students. He has remained in teacher since that time, learning
that the challenges in education are far more complex than he originally thought. His "front
line" experience as a high school teacher provided him with valuable perspective as
a future policy maker at RCC.
In 1990, Mark was elected to the Riverside Community College Board of Trustees, finishing
first among eleven candidates vying for two seats. Amid campus dissention over the policies
of former District's Superintendent/President, Mark led the national search for the District's
widely regarded and long-serving Chancellor Dr. Salvatore Rotella. Contending with a deeply
divided Board, Mark, as Board President in 1991, brokered a unanimous approval of Dr. Rotella's
first contract. Over the next few years, the Board and the District would gain stability
and direction even amid serious fiscal challenges. Mark has supported a number of nationally
recognized efforts and innovations that Dr. Rotella introduced at RCC.
Mark was the Democratic Party nominee for the Congress in 1992 and 1994, nearly being elected
but for four-hundred-and-fifty votes during his first run. As the chair of RCC's legislative
committee, Mark has worked in a bi-partisan way to secure maximum support from Sacramento
and Washington, D.C. Other community college trustees throughout the state of California
elected him to the Board of Directors of the California Community College Trustees in 1996,
a post he continued to hold until 2006. His relationships with trustees and legislators
throughout the state make him an effective legislative advocate for RCC. He contributed
to the effort among under-funded districts to secure "equalization" money.
As Mark seeks his fifth term to the RCCD Board of Trustees, he enjoys wide support among
Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters. He truly governs RCC in a non-partisan style,
looking to do what is right by students, faculty and the community. Dr. Rotella's retirement
leaves the Board with its most important responsibility: the appointment of his permanent
replacement. The District is in good hands with Interim Chancellor, Dr. Irving Hendrick,
Dean Emeritus of the School of Education at the University of California, Riverside.
His sound and experienced leadership is exactly what RCC needs right now, as important projects
such as the Riverside School for the Arts and the Ben Clark Public Safety Training will
need his guidance. Norco College and Moreno Valley College will become independent colleges,
joining Riverside City College as a three-college system. His institutional knowledge, his
relationships with trustee leaders from around the state, and his knowledge of government
will help ensure that RCC becomes an even greater institution. Most importantly, Mark's
long experience, commitment, and integrity will help keep important projects on track while
RCC identifies its next chancellor.
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