Community leader, fundraiser and philanthropist
A lifelong volunteer, Mark has played a leadership role in several community organizations. He was the board chair of United Way Ottawa from 2006 to 2008 and served as the community campaign co-chair in 2014-15, helping to raise millions of dollars for community causes and breaking down barriers to prosperity, equality and diversity.
He has volunteered for the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health for more than 20 years, including nine years on its board, striving to eliminate the stigma of mental illness, uncover the links between mental illness and societal challenges like crime and addiction, and raising money for important diagnostic and treatment tools.
Mark was the chair of the Great Canadian Theatre Company for eight years, leading the arts organization when it carried out the planning, fundraising campaign and move to its new location in Hintonburg.
He was the founding chair of the Ottawa Community Housing Foundation and has also served on the board of Kind Canada and the Christmas Exchange of Ottawa. Mark was named GCTC’s Volunteer of the Year in 2008. In 2016, he was honoured as United Way Ottawa’s Ambassador of the Year and was named to the Order of Ottawa, cited for his “lifelong interest in the media and in helping his Ottawa hometown flourish as a place of opportunity, diversity and equality.”