Mark Williams is the founder of MarkusWorks Inc., an innovative social and new media company combining 21st century technology with age-old wisdom to address the key identity issues and diversity concerns of today’s technology-driven workplace. With programs such as My Identity, KnowMeNow, Fit In! and others, MarkusWorks distributes educational programming, research, e-learning, information and resources that extend understanding to a new plateau where spirituality and corporate stewardship merge into a transformed understanding of human identity. Williams’ hallmark is the communication of innovative ideas through a creative blending of multimedia, interactive technology and original research.

Most recently, Williams has released Going SOULo, An Adventure, a modern parable about the daunting challenges of our times. Enormously entertaining and wonderfully illuminating, Going SOULo reminds us that in a constantly changing world, it’s important to hold onto timeless values and the universal power of love. The complementary multi-media web-site extends the story, messages and teachings as Williams taps into and expands the vast viral network of those individuals and organizations seeking personal and societal soulfulness and transformation.

IHI, Inc. and Going SOULo are the culmination of Williams’ career spanning more than 25 years at the forefront of the human resource, experiential learning and human potential arenas. Recognized as an opinion leader in the field of human potential, Mr. Williams writes widely on an array of related topics. His most recent business book, entitled Fit-In! The Unofficial Guide to Corporate Culture (Capital Books 2007) explores the hidden “culture” of organizations, revealing the informal rules, unspoken expectations, and hidden secrets that create each business’s unique personality. His prior books include Your Identity Zones: Who Am I? Who Are You? How Do We Get Along? (Capital Books 2004), outlining a practical, dynamic framework for personal growth to enhance cross-cultural understanding and community involvement; and The 10 Lenses: Your Guide to Living and Working in a Multicultural World (Capital Books 2001), a best-seller providing a framework for new thinking on understanding and managing cultural diversity. The 10 Lenses framework has been adopted by Fortune 500 companies, organizations and institutions such as American Express, Hearst Publications, Colgate Palmolive, Johnson & Johnson, Chevron Texaco, and The World Bank.

In addition to his books, Mr. Williams is a well known and engaging public speaker and educator who blends his expertise in breakthrough thinking, identity and diversity, organizational development and cross-cultural understanding with music, video, and other multi-media elements. An accomplished musical composer, he has collaborated with such acclaimed artists as Vanessa Williams, Christopher Reeve, Dennis Quaid, Al Jarreau and Danny Glover and Patti Austin. His inspirational composition “One Song, Many Voices” is the official theme song of the United Nations International Day of Tolerance and has been translated into six languages by Warner Music. He has been quoted widely in publications such as Fast Company, Savoy, and Black Enterprise, INC., as well as other international print media. He also has appeared on national and international television and radio programs, including the Tavis Smiley Show, Bloomberg News, CBS’s The Early Show, NBC’s Today Show, and CNN Financial News Network.

Mr. Williams has provided consultation services to a wide variety of clients. Founder of The Diversity Channel, he specialized in helping senior executives and elected leaders respond strategically to changing markets, employees, communities and customers. His clients included Exxon Corporation, AT&T, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Agency for International Development, Microsoft, the Central Intelligence Agency, Harvard University, Cisco Systems, Office Depot, and EDS. For nearly ten years prior to The Diversity Channel, he was the worldwide diversity consultant for the Marriott International family of companies, coordinating all aspects of their diversity strategy and educational programs, including working with Marriott’s CEO and presidents of all operating companies and divisions.

In 1998, Mr. Williams served on the design and facilitation team for the first Congressional Bi-Partisan Retreat, held in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He also has worked as an Expert Consultant to the U.S. Department of Education where he was a consultant to senior managers and political appointees. Finally, Mr. Williams began his career with acceptance into the NBC Corporate Associates Program, a highly competitive national management program developed for a select group of young professionals who demonstrated leadership potential in the broadcast industry.

Mr. Williams holds a B.A. in Political Science and an M.A. in Organizational Management from The American University. He is on the faculty of the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Sciences. He served as the Chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agency’s blue ribbon advisory panel on diversity, created to help its members navigate through sensitivity-driven diversity issues.

Mr. Williams lives in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife Laurie, and sons Lukas, 17, and Alexander, 15.

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