Mark Charley

Mark was given up for adoption at birth and left in the custody of Catholic Charities. By age twelve he had already been in several foster homes and was turned over to custody of the state where he was placed in a juvenile detention center for two-and-a-half years. He was diagnosed by psychologists as possessing Minimal Brain Dysfunction and as incorrigible and unable to conform to society. His life took a dramatic turn when he was adopted at twelve and moved to Alabama. The combination of being adopted by phenomenal parents, and Mark’s own personal commitment to alter his life from his past behavior and destructive patterns, enabled him to complete high school and attend college.
After graduating from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Political Justice and Political Science, Mark decided to dedicate his career to making a difference with people. This career goal led him to begin his distinguished professional career by working with youth and juvenile offenders. After working for several years as a Youth Advocate for the Roxbury Courts in Boston, Massachusetts, and recognizing the value of transformational work as opposed to incarceration or deterrence (the methods typically employed by the justice system), he began working as Program Director and Senior Trainer for the Breakthrough Foundation (San Francisco, C.A.), an organization that developed a powerful, reliable, and replicable technology designed to empower individuals to break out of vicious behavioral cycles.
Mark works collaboratively with numerous organizations of local volunteers and civic activists in various communities to assist in empowering young adults to meet the challenges posed by crime, violence, drugs, limited educational opportunities and teenage pregnancy. He has:

• Worked with or provided trainings for over 25,000 young adults, college students and adult professionals in the U.S., Canada, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Sweden, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Kosovo leading group processes in personal development and understanding.
• Designed and led workshops for professional community members and youth professional specialists focusing on personal development and new techniques to work effectively with high-risk youth.
• Designed, developed and implemented mentoring programs.
• Enlisted the participation of community organizations, educational institutions and youth agencies in various youth training programs.

Mark works with people to enable them to examine their lives, the choices and consequences of their actions, and to effectively choose to alter their future in powerful and constructive ways. His work has impacted communities at all levels – from CEO’s of companies to prisoners sentenced to life; from juvenile delinquents to average citizens who volunteer their time.
Among the many people who have indicated that they have derived enormous benefits from the trainings provided by Mark are: civil servants, police (including and ex-Commissioner of Police for London), and community leaders in Northern Ireland, prison staff, and staff from many youth services. His trainings are also effective for sports teams and corporate organizations.
Mark is the CEO of Uncommon Results a consulting company that provides training in personal and organizational development both with local and international clients. He operates as the lead trainer of this network of internationally based consultants working in the fields of:

• Diversity,
• Team Building,
• Change management,
• Personal and organizational development and
• Professional training.

The training delivered empowers individuals to alter their perceptions and beliefs in order to make way for a future full of new possibilities, and provides the tools and skills to accomplish these goals.
Currently Mark’s also serves as Product Director for Youth at Risk UK, his responsibilities include: setting up and coordinating The Center of Excellence; managing the process of designing new products and managing the design team; planning and implementing The Training Academy; ensuring adequate trainers and volunteers are available to deliver new services; and monitoring and evaluating delivered services.