As the SVA Research Fellow, Mark is responsible for assisting with a wide variety of research and evaluation projects supporting the efforts of the SVA team. His primary aim is to help determine if the organization is achieving the goals set for each program, and to facilitate asking questions about how we can improve.  To fulfil this role, Mark applies the tools of program evaluation, research design, and statistical analysis.

Prior to joining SVA, Mark spent over a decade in the field of community mental health. His primary areas of service were community crisis response and management, spending time both as the coordinator of a nine-county mental health mobile crisis response team, as well as the lead mental health trainer for the thirteen county Pine Belt Crisis Intervention Team. Within these roles, Mark was afforded the opportunity to work with several federal grants, both in the development and implementation stages. For five years Mark was primarily responsible for the federal grant evaluation and reporting efforts for these projects.

Mark holds BS and MS degrees in Counseling Psychology from William Carey University. Mark also holds a PhD in Research, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment from the University of Southern Mississippi. Mark’s dissertation research examined police officer attitudes and behavior toward individuals with serious mental illness.