KIRK MARK. M.Ed.
Kirk Mark is a recent retiree as Senior Coordinator of the Community Relations Department in Toronto Catholic District School Board (Ontario, Canada), the largest Catholic School Board in the world with 92,000 plus students, 14,000 plus staff and 200 plus schools. He has been involved in diversity programmes in corporations, communities and schools for over thirty-five years with extensive travel to and consultation within the Caribbean, Europe, The Continent of Africa and the United States of America. His areas of expertise, while residing in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario, are: Systemic Change Management, Development of Boards of Directors, Professional Learning, Equity and Inclusive Education, Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy, Student-Athletic Development, Parent and Community Capacity Development. Mr. Mark has presented his work, as an author and educationalist, to local, national and international audiences such as: the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity (NCORE), Cheikh Anta Diop Conference, and The University of Toronto’s De-Colonizing the Spirit Conference, and various boards of education. As a community volunteer, he shares his expertise, currently, as a member of the Board of Director and President of The Canadian Alliance of Black Educators, The Urban Alliance on Race Relations, and The Toronto Basketball Association to name a few. Some of his past Board experiences involved the development of the Willowdale Community Legal Clinic, Secretary – Caribbean Cultural Committee, Caribana, Secretary – The West Indian Volunteer Association, Etobicoke, and President – Basketball Ontario. In addition to being listing in Who’s Who in Black Canada (2002, 2006, 2010 Editions), as well as receiving numerous accolades, a few of his awards include but not limited to: The African Canadian Achievement Award for Excellence in Education, The National Alliance of Black School Educators Ft. Worth Chapter Education Award, The UMOJA Award for Outstanding Community Service (Quebec), The Human Rights and Race Relations Centre Gold Medal Award (Ontario), The Hispanic Canadian Alliance of Ontario Appreciation Award, The Toronto Basketball Association Award of Excellence and the Canadian Samaritans for Africa Award.
