About me

I’m Mark, and I live in Mississauga, Ontario.  We like to say it’s the sixth largest city in Canada.  Too bad no one ever heard of it.  It’s on the western edge of Toronto, and it’s where Pearson airport is.  But I love living in/near the city of TO.  It inspires me to drive down the Gardiner (though not in traffic), and see the CN Tower and bank buildings looming on the edge of Lake Ontario.  Beautiful.

I’m married to Karen, and have two great teenaged boys, Daniel and Nathan … who lately are becoming Dan and Nate.

I’m a part of a community called ‘The Meeting House’, and Karen and I get together with a bunch of friends weekly: Randy, Nadine, Melinda, Pete, Anne-Marie, and Darryl.  They are a great support to me, and I’ve loved seeing our friendship develop over the years.

Before I got this job working with Bridgeway, Karen and I spent nine years working in the charitable sector in various countries of the world.  Costa Rica, Colombia, the Philippines, and even Tennessee USA, which of all these places, brought us the most severe culture shock.

Of the places I’ve been (and it’s been a few), I’ve got to tell you that every time I fly into Bogotá airport, I get teary.  There’s something about the Colombian people that just has got a hold of me.  Maybe it was deciding to have Nate while we were living in Medellín that has knit us to these people.  Maybe it was living there during some of the worst moments of its drug and guerrilla-fuelled history - with dusk-to-dawn curfews, bombs going off and echoing through the valley, soldiers with machine guns on motorcycles.    Or maybe it was living amongst the people, holding their babies, walking with them through the barrios.  Colombian resiliance and positive attitudes in spite of 40+ years of civil strife fill me with admiration.

(Well-written, captivating articles on Colombia can be found in the NY Times on the three places we lived - Coffee Region, Medellín, and Bogotá.)

But now, in an odd shift, I work for Bridgeway Foundation which was started by our family.  I’ve been there since November 2000, and have been charged with the task of setting strategic direction and managing daily operations.  As a foundation, every year we are required by law to disburse a minimum of 3.5% of our assets to charitable work done through Canadian charities.  (Our targets are usually set higher.)  We have determined a list of our priorities and interests on the Bridgeway website.

I’m also a person of faith.  I believe Jesus came to liberate us from selfish and grasping lives - that we are meant to give, and give generously.  Though he’s my model, I am not perfect.  Yes, I fail miserably at times.  But where there is failure, there is grace.  I pick myself up, dust myself off, and ask him for help to carry on with that greater vision in mind.

Besides my full time work, I get a lot of joy out of serving on the following boards.  These are organizations that are making a meaningful difference in the lives of people – through microfinance, presence in the most challenging places, and through the arts:

• Opportunity International Canada, since 2002.  An organization offering microfinancial services (loans, savings, insurance) to the world’s entrepreneurial poor in over 28 developing world countries.
• Word Made Flesh Canada, since 2008 (applying for charitable status).  An innovative charitable organization modeled after the work of Mother Theresa, being the incarnational presence of Jesus in the world’s most challenging urban barrios, refugee camps, red light districts and slums.
• Image Journal, since 2009.  A charitable organization based in Seattle, which produces a quarterly journal dedicated to the arts — poetry, short stories, and visual arts — as well as occasional workshops and seminars exploring how faith connects with art and mystery.  Image Journal is applying for Canadian charitable status, though it has been operating for over 20 years in the USA.

Let me know if you’d like to chat or have a question about what I do.  I can be reached through info AT bridgewayfoundation DOT ca.