Mark E. Woods, MPPM, MSW, LSW serves as a Therapist and as Quality Improvement and Development Officer of Your Human Resource Center, a mental health and substance abuse treatment center serving Wayne and Holmes Counties, Ohio. Prior to this role with the agency, Mark was the coordinator of three comprehensive tobacco control programs in the region. It was through this work that Mark was named one of the 100 Pioneers of Smoking Cessation by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Mark implements group therapy sessions with adolescents and young adults referred by area schools and courts, especially focused on antisocial and criminal behavior patterns.
In addition, Mark is an adjunct instructor in behavioral sciences departments at the University of Akron – Wayne College and Stark State College of Technology. Mark’s primary teaching foci are in sociology, criminology and diversity. He graduated with a BA from Bluffton College as the Distinguished Scholar in Criminal Justice in 2000 and as a lifetime member of the Psi Chi International Psychology Honor Society, with a Master of Social Work from The Ohio State University College of Social Work John Glenn School of Public Affairs in 2008 and with a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Management from The Ohio State University.
A Licensed Social Worker in Ohio, Mark is also a graduate of the Appalachian Leadership Academy, The Grantmanship Center Institute and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Tobacco Treatment Specialist certification program. Mark is also a trainer for the LifeSkills Training program, an evidence-based, in-school prevention curriculum.
Mark is a former victim of child abuse and an intermittent lifetime mental health consumer. Mental illness has plagued the lives of a number of Mark’s family members – he is therefore personally committed to increasing mental health and fairness for those with whom mental health is a struggle. Mark, his wife, and three boys spend their free time playing Legos and rooting loyally for The Buckeyes. GO BUCKS!