About Mark

Mark Lovelace grew up in San Jose.  He attended San Jose State University where he received his Bachelors of Science degree in Industrial Design.  He moved to Arcata in 1989, where he met is wife, Valorie at a fundraiser for Arcata’s Sister City project.  Their daughter Abbey is 14 years old and attends Arcata High School.  They own a house on Buttermilk Lane in Arcata’s Sunny Brae neighborhood.

Mark started working at the age of 14, spending two summers digging ditches for his father, an irrigation contractor.  Mark paid his own way through college pumping gas, bussing tables, and working retail.  He has worked as a mechanic, a delivery driver, a camp counselor, a graphic designer, and a model-maker.

After moving to Arcata, Mark worked for 12 years as production manager for Wildwood Company, a local manufacturer of parts for musical instruments.  In 2001, he started his own business as a design and production development consultant for small manufacturers, helping small businesses here and across the country improve production so that they can compete in the global market.

When a 175 acre timber harvest plan was proposed adjacent to Sunny Brae, Mark founded the Sunnybrae / Arcata Neighborhood Alliance, a grassroots neighborhood organization which sought to protect the safety, property and quality of life of the community.  After a massive 2 year campaign, the landowner agreed to sell the forest to the City of Arcata, to be managed as a part of its Community Forest.  To help with the purchase, Mark established the Arcata Forest Fund, which raised over $100,000 from the local community.  Mark also worked with the City to bring in $2.6 million in State, Federal and private grants for the project.

In 2002, the Arcata Eye named Mark its Citizen of the Year for his work on behalf of the Sunny Brae Forest.  He received the Redwood Region Audubon Society’s Conservation Award in 2005.

Mark has worked as President of the Humboldt Watershed Council since 2003, seeking to protect downstream landowners from the impacts of upstream land management.  His efforts on behalf of the Freshwater and Elk River watersheds helped change water quality regulation in the State of California.  These efforts have been funded by local contributions and by his considerable volunteer efforts.

In 2004, Mark helped found the Healthy Humboldt Coalition, to provide education, outreach and support for Humboldt County’s General Plan Update.  Healthy Humboldt seeks to protect our environment and preserve working lands and open space by making our cities attractive, vibrant and healthy places where people want to live. Healthy Humboldt also advocates for programs and policies that would ensure a supply of housing to meet the needs of the whole community.  The Healthy Humboldt Coalition has been funded by the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation’s Preserving Wild California campaign, and by local contributions.

In 2005 Mark secured a $200,000 grant for the City of Arcata to help acquire the 320-acre Bayview Ranch.

Mark has served on the Steering Committee for the Humboldt Partnership for Active Living (HumPAL) which advocates for healthier, walkable communities, trails, and alternative transportation.

Mark also serves on the Coordinating Committee of the Community Forestry Team, a coalition of environmental and conservation organizations working with private capital investors to acquire and manage the Pacific Lumber Company for the long-term benefit of the environment and the local community.

Through Citizens for Real Economic Growth he has sought to educate the community on the economic, environmental and social impacts of big-box retail, and the advantages of small, locally-grown businesses.

Mark has served on the Humboldt Area Foundation’s Scholarship Committee since 2002.  He volunteered for many years with the Children’s Discovery Museum, and worked with RCAA’s Raven Project to create a mural for their Youth Services Bureau thrift store.  He has also been deeply involved in his daughter’s schools, helping with numerous events and school trips.

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