Mark Rausch is an accomplished executive, organizational leader, healthcare administrator, professional engineer, military veteran, educator, and disability advocate whose career spans more than five decades of service, leadership, engineering, healthcare operations, humanitarian initiatives, and nonprofit development. He currently serves as Vice President of Business Development for the Handicap Scuba Association, where he helps expand opportunities for individuals with disabilities to experience the physical, emotional, and social benefits of adaptive scuba diving. Throughout his career, Mark has consistently brought together technical expertise, organizational leadership, compassion, and a service-oriented mindset to solve complex challenges and create opportunities for others.
Mark’s professional journey is distinguished by an unusually broad combination of healthcare administration, engineering, military leadership, program management, disability inclusion, and nonprofit development. He holds a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Management from the University of Phoenix, a Master of Science in Health Care Administration, and a bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering. His doctoral research focused on disability and leadership within the sport of scuba diving, examining how instructional systems can better support instructors with disabilities and create pathways toward sustainable leadership. The work reflects a subject that has become central to Mark’s professional mission: ensuring that disability is viewed not as a limitation on leadership potential, but as a perspective capable of strengthening organizations, communities, and industries.
For approximately 25 years, Mark built an extensive civilian career within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, progressing through increasingly responsible engineering and healthcare facilities leadership positions. His assignments included roles at VA medical centers in Chicago, Dayton, Gainesville, West Palm Beach, Detroit, and Hines. As Chief of Facilities Management Services at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital, he oversaw operations for approximately 3.1 million square feet across 56 buildings and supervised a workforce of more than 130 personnel. His responsibilities encompassed major construction programs, infrastructure planning, facility operations, capital development, budgeting, regulatory compliance, and the complex operational requirements associated with one of the largest VA medical centers in Illinois.
Earlier leadership assignments further strengthened Mark’s expertise in healthcare infrastructure and organizational operations. As Chief of Facility Engineering at the Detroit VA Medical Center, he was responsible for engineering functions supporting approximately 2.4 million square feet of healthcare facilities. At the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, he served as Assistant Chief of Facilities Management for a 1.6-million-square-foot medical center and associated nursing care operations, helping oversee personnel, budgeting, capital planning, construction, engineering programs, and organizational readiness. These assignments gave Mark firsthand experience leading large, multidisciplinary teams in environments where safety, reliability, regulatory compliance, financial stewardship, and patient care are closely interconnected.
Parallel to his civilian career, Mark completed 32 years of military service encompassing the U.S. Navy Seabees, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard, ultimately retiring as a Major. His military experience took him throughout the United States and to locations across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Following the September 11 attacks, Mark was recalled to active duty with U.S. Central Command and contributed to strategic engineering and logistical planning associated with Operation Enduring Freedom, including helping author the first edition of USCENTCOM’s “The Sand Book.” His performance led to his selection for a commission as a Bioenvironmental Engineer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, expanding his leadership responsibilities into environmental health, occupational safety, engineering, and operational readiness.
Mark later served as a Civil Engineering Officer during the U.S. military drawdown at Kirkuk Regional Air Base in Iraq, where he was responsible for the transfer and disposition of approximately $13 million in civil engineering assets. Soon afterward, he deployed to East Africa as Kenya Country Engineer and Mission Commander in support of Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa, overseeing military construction, long-range planning, and humanitarian initiatives. He also supported crisis-response activities during major natural disasters, including Superstorm Sandy, and helped develop collaborative bioenvironmental engineering partnerships while serving with the 127th Medical Group at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. His military service was recognized through numerous decorations, including the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, NATO Medal, and other federal and state awards.
Beyond government and military leadership, Mark has devoted more than three decades to expanding access to recreational and therapeutic opportunities for people with disabilities. In 1994, he founded Poseidon Handicap Scuba Adventures, an organization dedicated to providing and advocating for aquatic opportunities for individuals with disabilities. He later became a co-founder of the Free in the Sea Project and has trained divers, instructors, and adaptive diving professionals around the world. Today, as Vice President of Business Development for the Handicap Scuba Association, he contributes to an international organization whose network includes thousands of underwater educators across dozens of countries.
Mark’s commitment to disability advocacy has taken him well beyond the United States. He has taught, presented, collaborated, and participated in disability and inclusion initiatives across countries including India, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Portugal, Greece, Indonesia, the Bahamas, and locations throughout Europe and Africa. He has spoken at international inclusion and disability conferences and is comfortable addressing audiences on leadership, disability, adaptive recreation, organizational inclusion, healthcare, and service. His international exposure has strengthened his ability to understand cultural differences, build relationships across diverse communities, and approach leadership challenges with curiosity rather than assumption.
A lifelong learner, Mark combines formal education with decades of applied leadership experience. In addition to his doctorate and graduate education in healthcare administration, he is a Professional Engineer licensed in Michigan, Ohio, and Florida and has completed advanced military and professional education through institutions including the U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College, the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, and the Air Force Institute of Technology. His background gives him the ability to evaluate issues simultaneously through operational, technical, human, financial, and strategic lenses—an uncommon combination that is particularly valuable in boardrooms and advisory environments.
Mark has also earned significant recognition within the global diving and disability communities. His work has included leadership within adaptive diving education, coordination roles connected to international disability rehabilitation initiatives, and recognition through industry awards including the ADEX Inspirational Excellence Award and the ADEX Dive Industry Global Impact Award. He is a Fellow of the Inclusion Forums of Inclusion Practitioners and has spent decades helping organizations and individuals reconsider what is possible for people with disabilities. His influence is grounded not simply in advocacy, but in practical experience designing programs, teaching students, developing instructors, leading organizations, and navigating the operational realities required to turn inclusive ideas into sustainable programs.
At the heart of Mark’s leadership philosophy is service. Whether managing healthcare infrastructure, commanding engineering missions overseas, developing humanitarian programs, teaching adaptive scuba diving, or mentoring people with disabilities, he has consistently focused on helping people achieve outcomes that may once have seemed inaccessible. His leadership style is calm, thoughtful, relationship-oriented, and grounded in listening before acting. He believes credibility is built through education, preparation, accountability, and a willingness to serve the mission rather than seek recognition.
Mark’s interest in board and advisory service represents a natural continuation of that philosophy. Having spent decades leading teams, managing complex facilities and programs, serving his country, educating others, and advocating for individuals with disabilities, he is motivated by the opportunity to give back and help organizations make better decisions. He brings a particularly valuable perspective to organizations operating in healthcare, disability services, military and veterans affairs, nonprofits, engineering, social programs, education, hospital administration, and mission-driven enterprises. His experience allows him to contribute both strategic thinking and practical operational insight while maintaining a strong awareness of the people ultimately affected by organizational decisions.
For Mark, meaningful leadership is ultimately measured by the opportunities created for others. His career demonstrates that effective leaders can move comfortably between the boardroom, hospital campus, military command environment, classroom, nonprofit organization, and international community while remaining anchored by the same principles: service, inclusion, accountability, continuous learning, and respect for every individual’s potential. As he enters the next chapter of his professional life, Mark seeks to apply those principles through board and advisory roles where his multidisciplinary experience, critical thinking, global perspective, and dedication to service can help organizations grow responsibly and create lasting social impact.
Character:
Mark leads with humility, integrity, compassion, and a deeply ingrained commitment to service that has been shaped by decades of military, healthcare, nonprofit, and community leadership. He approaches people with patience and respect, listens carefully to different perspectives, and consistently focuses on how his experience can be used to improve outcomes for others.
Knowledge:
A rare multidisciplinary foundation spanning organizational leadership, healthcare administration, engineering, facilities management, military operations, disability inclusion, adaptive recreation, project management, and nonprofit development. His doctoral research, professional engineering credentials, executive experience, and lifelong commitment to learning allow him to evaluate complex organizational issues from both technical and human perspectives.
Strategic:
Mark has repeatedly led in environments requiring long-range planning, resource allocation, risk management, capital investment, organizational coordination, and mission-critical decision-making. Whether overseeing major healthcare facilities, managing military engineering missions, or developing inclusive programs, he connects immediate operational requirements with broader organizational objectives and sustainable outcomes.
Communication:
An experienced educator and international public speaker who communicates comfortably with executives, military leaders, healthcare professionals, students, nonprofit stakeholders, individuals with disabilities, and multicultural audiences. His communication style is thoughtful and accessible, enabling him to translate complex subjects into practical ideas while building trust and productive relationships.
