Mark spent 17 years full-time in Fire, 14 with the US Forest Service (USFS) with permanent duty stations on the Giant Sequoia National Monument in Central California, the Malheur National Forest in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Oregon, and the Mark Twain National Forest in the Ozarks of Missouri. During that span of time, he completed the National Interagency Joint Wildland Fire Apprenticeship Program earning the designation "Wildland Firefighter Specialist", served in numerous positions across Suppression Operations (Engine Company and Wildland Fire Module), Fire/Law Enforcement/Aviation Dispatch, Prevention/Mitigation and Investigation/Law Enforcement, as well as Fuels and Prescribed Fire Management & Implementation. He graduated from the first cohort of the USFS Field Command School for Incident Management Teams and has served as a Planning Section Chief for both Wildfire and Special Event Incidents (Rainbow Family National Gathering, Total Eclipse 2017)

He's now the "Chief Everything Officer" of Grounded Truths LLC, a Missouri Certified Burn Manager, and the Chair of the Missouri Prescribed Fire Council for the 2023-2024 term.