John Mark

My blogs

Industry	Non-Profit
Occupation	Executive Director
Location	Des Moines, Iowa, United States
Introduction	I grew up in Small Town, USA. From teenagehood until my 20s I was obsessed with music and ritual. That led to two degrees (B.Mus, M.A.). I thought I was leaving music behind when I joined the Peace Corps as an English Teacher in Benin, West-Africa. In a strange turn of events, I ended up charged with the task of starting a Center for Art and Music in that same country. The center sought to promote arts education in the developing world. Working with host country nationals, I developed infrastructure, curricula, and other innovative programs before leaving the center in 2013. I came home to Iowa with a new mandate. I was hired to build an organization that offered arts-based work readiness programming to court-involved youth. After three years at ArtForceIowa, we have multiple programs serving diverse populations in the city. In my spare time, I host guests through AirBNB, make music, travel, make short videos, make art, and entertain my impaired dog, Elias. I'm also in the process of bringing my longtime partner to the U.S.
Interests	art, non-profit, education, arts education, screen-printing, airbnb, music, Iowa, Des Moines