As a 24 year old transgender-male, Mark has fought many battles on his road to advocacy. Through years of torment from others and from himself, he ultimately climbed through adversity to rebuild himself and fight for others.
One of Mark’s first landmark advocacy roles came through the effort to have a gender neutral bathroom placed in his alma mater, Robbinsville High School and co-writing policies for the administration to use with future LGBTQIA students. From personal experience, Mark knew the embarrassment and anxiety attached to using the bathroom at school and wanted to eliminate yet another barrier in the way of students feeling safe in their environment. He believes that safety and comfort are at the foundation of a child’s ability to learn.
From a young age, Mark’s desire to help others led him to volunteerism at the Boys and Girls Club and ARC Mercer. Participating with his mother on countless volunteer efforts not only gave Mark insight into lives other than his own, but also provided the opportunity to learn that people struggled just as he did. With that, he vowed to be an advocate for voices that are so often silenced… voices he knew all too well.
He later moved his focus to substance abuse recovery and spent a year volunteering as a live-in house manager for newly sober men at South Jersey Recovery Residences, teaching life skills and emotion management to individuals that needed a second chance. Mark currently works as Event Coordinator for the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce.