MICHAEL MARKS BIO
Michael Marks is a former Mississippi Teacher of the Year, National Milken Educator and America’s Outstanding Teacher of the
Performing Arts.
Instructor of theatre for over 20 years at Hattiesburg High School, he directed over 50 productions including The Wiz, which
played at The International Theatre Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Under his direction, Music Theatre International selected
HHS as America’s Best High School Performing Arts Department. His theatre students have originated roles in national shows
from Broadway’s Hairspray to Marvel’s Black Panther. HHS Thespians became the first high school in America to establish a
chapter of Equity Fights AIDS on its campus.
As debate coach at Hattiesburg high School, he qualified students to national tournaments in every event. His mock trial teams
claimed 8 state championships and as many Top Ten finishes in national competition. He served on the Deep South District
Committee, chaired The Mississippi NFL District, served as a national parliamentarian for NFL Congress, and founded the Biloxi
Catholic Forensic League.
As a playwright, his Hattiesburg High School docudrama The Katrina Project: Hell and High Water toured the continental United
States, including a performance in Dallas at the National Forensics League Tournament; enjoyed a command performance for
Congress; and received the NEA’s National Human and Civil Rights award. The show was recently revived for the 10 th
Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and to date has generated over $400,000 in relief benefits for natural disaster victims in our
country.
As former president of The Mississippi Association of Educators, he once negotiated a 36% pay raise for his state’s educators.
As former Executive Officer of the 3.3 million-member National Education Association, he was responsible for the National
Read Across America Program. He represented America at The Education International Conference in Berlin, keynoted the
India Teachers Conference and championed diversity via workshops he presented in Barbados. In addition, he served as
Treasurer of The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and chairs the Hattiesburg Mayoral Health Council. He also
chaired the National Task Force on Early Childhood Education.
A founding director and former President of The Miss Mississippi Pageant Local Directors Association, he holds the distinction
of having his contestant win the state title for a record 4 times. In addition, he directed the Miss Mississippi Troupe and served
as talent coach for Mississippi’s last national winner. In addition to a Miss America title, his former students have also included
an America’s Junior Miss (now America’s Distinguished Young Woman).
When funding was recently cut from the Hattiesburg High School Debate Team, he organized Speak Up, Hattiesburg, a
community-built coalition that raised $16K to keep the speech and debate team on the road. This year, Speech and Debate
coaches from across the country recognized his efforts with their Josephine Dukes National Teacher of the Year distinction. A
member of the Public Relations Association of Mississippi, he is co-author of the book, Katrina: Ten Years After and serves as a
director on the boards for Hattiesburg Public School District Foundation, Downtown Hattiesburg, the Pine Belt Foundation and
Mississippi’s Miss Hospitality Competition.
For his exceptional community service, he received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award from his alma mater, The University of
Southern Mississippi. He is a former principal of Mississippi’s ADEPT Dropout Recovery School and is the former Public
Relations Coordinator at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg and recently raised thousands of dollars for Hattiesburg Public
School District student scholarships, teacher grants and early childhood education, as chair of the inaugural Hattiesburg Hall of
Fame.
As Instructor of theatre for over 20 years at Hattiesburg High School, he directed over 50 productions including The Wiz, which played at The International Theatre Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Under his direction, Music Theatre International selected HHS as America’s Best High School Performing Arts Department. His theatre students have originated roles in national shows from Broadway’s Hairspray to Marvel’s Black Panther. HHS Thespians became the first high school in America to establish a chapter of Equity Fights AIDS on its campus.
As debate coach at Hattiesburg high School, he qualified students to national tournaments in every event. His mock trial teams claimed 8 state championships and as many Top Ten finishes in national competition. He served on the Deep South District Committee, chaired The Mississippi NFL District, served as a national parliamentarian for NFL Congress, and founded the Biloxi Catholic Forensic League.
As a playwright, his Hattiesburg High School docudrama The Katrina Project: Hell and High Water toured the continental United States, including a performance in Dallas at the National Forensics League Tournament; enjoyed a command performance for Congress; and received the NEA’s National Human and Civil Rights award. The show was recently revived for the 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and to date has generated over $400,000 in relief benefits for natural disaster victims in our country.
As former president of The Mississippi Association of Educators, he once negotiated a 36% pay raise for his state’s educators. As former Executive Officer of the 3.3 million-member National Education Association, he was responsible for the National Read Across America Program. He represented America at The Education International Conference in Berlin, keynoted the India Teachers Conference and championed diversity via workshops he presented in Barbados. In addition, he served as Treasurer of The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and chairs the Hattiesburg Mayoral Health Council. He also chaired the National Task Force on Early Childhood Education.Hattiesburg Mayoral Health Council. He also chaired the National Task Force on Early Childhood Education.
A founding director and former President of The Miss Mississippi Pageant Local Directors Association, he holds the distinction of having his contestant win the state title for a record 4 times. In addition, he directed the Miss Mississippi Troupe and served as talent coach for Mississippi’s last national winner. In addition to a Miss America title, his former students have also included an America’s Junior Miss (now America’s Distinguished Young Woman).
