Mark has been in private Conservation practice in Colorado since 1993.  He graduated with a BA in Philosophy from UC Santa Cruz in 1982, and promptly entered the Furniture Making program at College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg, CA, under James Krenov. Mark completed two years of training there, and went on to be a studio furniture maker in Phoenix, AZ. 

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In 1986, he was one of 7 students selected for the inaugural Furniture Conservation Program at the Conservation Analytical Laboratory of the Smithsonian Institution.  This was a three year, part-time, graduate program, that culminated with an internship year (which was fulfilled at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco).  Prior to this, Mark worked on contract in the Department of Objects Conservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

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Following his graduate internship, he was hired as an Assistant Conservator at the Met, working primarily for the American Wing.

In 1993, Mark left New York, and ventured West to Colorado, where he has been ever since.  He has done extensive treatment work for the Denver Art Museum, Colorado Historical Society, and Museums of New Mexico.  He has also done contract work for numerous regional and major museums, including the Indianapolis Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Arizona State University Art Museum,  the Greeley Museum, The Pioneer Museum (Golden), the Baca House (Trinidad), the Church Museum (Salt Lake City) and others.  In 1996, he led a 9 month project to conserve the Koutoubiya Minbar in Marrakech, Morocco.  Recently, Mark has been involved as a project leader for the conservation of the Choir Loft (Coro) of the 17th C. Jesuit mission of Santa Ana de la Hoya, in the foothills of the Sierra Madres in Chihuahua, Mexico.

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Mark is a past Specialty Group chair (Wooden Artifacts Specialty Group) for the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).  He has also authored numerous papers, and been a contributor for books.

An avid musician, Mark plays Cajun accordion and fiddle in the Salida, Colorado band the Gumbo Jets.  He lives and works outside of Salida in the small hamlet of Howard, CO (located roughly mid-way between Denver and Santa Fe), with his two sons, Seth and Nathaniel.