Mark is originally from Alamosa, Colorado and is Chiricahua Apache with a Jicarilla Apache and Pueblo descent. Mark was a Roman Catholic priest for 16 years where he served 7 years as a pastor on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations in Arizona. He was later assigned to two churches in New Orleans, Louisiana where he co-founded a ministry for children with disabilities and their families.
After Hurricane Katrina, Mark was appointed by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to be the Assistant Director of Disability Affairs in 2006 to assist persons with disabilities in accessing resources and services after the hurricane. In 2008, he was then appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs assisting the Louisiana tribes after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in their recovery efforts.
In 2010, Mark moved to the Black Hills of South Dakota and began working at Partnership With Native Americans (PWNA) in Rapid City initiating PWNA’s Long-Term Solutions sustainable programs for tribal communities. He was later appointed as the Director of Community Partnerships and Tribal Relations, cultivating partner relationships with corporations, foundations, non-profit organizations, tribes and philanthropists to support PWNA’s work.
Mark currently lives in Portage, Indiana and has been the Director of Native/Tribal Partnerships at Feeding America for over 2 years where he is assists the initiatives of the Food Banks within Feeding America’s membership to develop or enhance relationships with Native/Tribal communities and to partner with native American led and serving grasstop organizations.