About Mark Hartley

Mark Hartley is a renowned author, public speaker and encourager of others’ dreams. He is currently the director of Student Leadership and Development at Cal State San Bernardino in sunny southern California and professional speaker with Coleman Productions, Inc. His primary job responsibility? To make sure his students are living up to their potential! Mark encourages them to follow through on his favorite quote which is, “To love what you do and feel that it matters, how could anything be more fun?”

To understand how Mark can make a difference in your life, you must learn a little more about him. Mark was born on the south side of Chicago. His family lived humbly, but proud. His father, an entrepreneur at-heart, instilled a positive attitude and a sense of self-worth in his son. His mother gave him the moral support and belief that he was destined for excellence. Though his father went from job to job pursuing a better life for his family, Mark found the “unemployment days” to be the best. Those were the times when his father coached his Little League teams and shared stories of the Vietnam War. The older Hartley spent quality time with his son making sure the path ahead did not include gang or drug life. Mark’s father taught him at an early age to “Just Do It . . . as long as it is positive!”

He moved to Costa Mesa, California at the young age of 15 and instantly fell in love with beach life while holding on to his mid-West roots and family values. Mark was a natural athlete and excelled in football, baseball and basketball. He went on to earn a spot on his college football and baseball teams, as well as get involved in fraternity life, while earning Dean’s List honors. During his junior year of college, Mark’s father and mentor unexpectedly passed away from pancreatic cancer at age 47. Mark had a choice to make: either limp through life mourning his father’s death or make sure his father’s positive message was shared with the next generation of leaders.

Mark graduated with honors the following year with a degree in Asian Studies from the University of Redlands. He thought he was on the fast track to success, but with a failing economy and limited job offers, he happily settled for a job as a bellman at the Scottsdale Conference Resort in Arizona. While this was not Mark’s dream job, he made sure he gave 100% effort every single day. Within three years, he was named employee of the year and was promoted to Assistant Bell Captain. While other bellmen were worried about making financial tips, Mark was focused on getting “tips of wisdom.” He often went out of his way to “interview” CEO’s and business leaders staying at the resort about their success philosophies and business strategies.

Simultaneously, he started his own marketing firm and began to give keynote presentations to entrepreneurs and other business owners. After five years of soaking in knowledge from these kings and queens of industry, he developed his own model for success from personal experience. This is when Mark decided to take his professional career in new direction.

With the days of recovering lost suitcases behind him, Mark moved back to southern California to make a difference at his Alma Mater. First as a Resident Director overseeing nearly 200 undergraduates and then as an assistant in the Student Leadership & Involvement Center overseeing 2,000 students. Mark began to focus his energy in the areas of fraternity and sorority life. He saw great potential in students who had self-selected into organizations that were founded on the principles of excellence in all areas of life. Mark helped a fledgling Greek community find their true potential. Their GPA went from a 2.71 to a 3.15 in a matter of two years based on systems of accountability Mark implemented. In his spare time, he earned two Masters’ degrees: one in business management and the other in higher education administration.

In 2007, Mark became the Director of Student Leadership & Development at Cal State San Bernardino and with him he brought a vast amount of experience and energy.

When asked what he hopes to accomplish in his speaking, he replied: “To inspire a generation of leaders, a generation of highly motivated individuals to achieve success for themselves and others. I hope to inspire individuals to act responsibly and with integrity. I hope to be the spark that lights the world on fire; the catalyst who encourages people to live up to their God-given potential. Most importantly, I hope to live up to my potential and be a wonderful example for my children Keegan and Alexa and my wife Heather.”

Mark is the author of the highly acclaimed book series If Knew Then What I Know Now . . . which has been used in several university orientation programs. Mark wears many hats throughout his daily life: Husband, Father, Speaker, University Administrator, Friend, and Encourager . . . to name a few. One hat that will always be associated with Mark is Leader. He is an inspiration to those who come in contact with him and he strives to be an inspiration to the world!