About Mark Mortenson
Mark Mortenson grew up in St. David, Arizona. He graduated from St. David High School, put himself through college and worked three jobs as he earned a bachelor’s degree and aspired to be a financial analyst. He later completed his master’s degree in business administration from Woodbury University in Burbank, California.
He began his career with Disney and became a financial analyst for studio operations. By the mid-2000s, he was vice president of corporate operations and real estate, traveling around the world to oversee Disney properties.
He and his family moved to Buffalo in 2007, and took leadership of the Buffalo Science Museum as their President and completely transformed the museum through a Strategic Plan that emphasized the visitor experience. His vision and programming caused a soar in attendance and tripled the number of memberships by the time of his departure in 2016.
After a brief time working for The Arc Erie County and then the Grand Canyon Resort Corp. in Arizona, he returned to Buffalo to become president and CEO of the Richardson Center Corp. in January 2018 and executive director of the Lipsey Architectural Center.
He then went to the Botanical Gardens, which is amidst a multimillion-dollar expansion that will add 35,000 square feet for a butterfly conservatory, classrooms, exhibits, grow houses, event space, a café and a larger gift shop. With only two- thirds of the support for the project in place, his challenge also included fundraising.
Courtesy of Dale Anderson, Buffalo News. Read the full article here