Our Mary in a Minute series about people making an impact on the Mary Cariola Community.
If you have been a part of the Mary Cariola Community for a while, chances are you know or have heard of Mark Siewert. Mark has been involved with the Agency for nearly forty years. He knew Mary Cariola personally, has been active as a parent and a supporter, has served as Chair of the Mary Cariola Center Board of Directors and currently serves as Board Chair for the Mary Cariola Foundation. Take a moment to learn more about Mark and his many contributions to the Agency.
A little about Mark
Mark Siewert serves as the current Board Chair of the Mary Cariola Foundation and is an Honorary Board Member of the Mary Cariola Center. He was born and raised in Rochester; and after attending Clarkson University, Mark worked in Kentucky and Ohio for Clow Corporation. After a few years, he returned home to Rochester to work at his father’s company, Siewert Equipment. He spent nearly forty years there, eventually taking over as the Owner and CEO.
Mark’s start with Mary Cariola Center
His son, Mark Daniel Siewert, attended the Mary Cariola Center. Starting in the home-based program, Mark Daniel attended Cariola’s preschool and school age program until he was 19. The Agency’s programs and assistance were critical to both Mark Daniel and his parents.
“Mary Cariola was very important to our son Mark Daniel as it was to (my wife) Marcia and me,” Mark said. “I want to make sure the kids of our community continue to have the programs and services that were so important to our family.”
After seeing the good things that the agency was doing for his son, he wanted to get involved. Mark Daniel was a total inspiration to his father. Mark said, “When he was born there was so little that I could do to ‘fix’ things. I think by getting involved at Mary Cariola, it helped me as much as I helped Cariola.” Mark joined the Board of Directors in 1986 and spent 22 years there, serving as Board Chair for two of those years.
Mark’s time on the Board
During his time on the Board, Mark saw abundant growth and change throughout the Agency and the Board itself. When he first joined, “Cariola separated the kids into the REACH (multiple disabilities) or SHAPE (behavioral) programs.” There were just three residences instead of the current six; and during his time, Bailey Road was built, Kreag Road was renovated, and English Road was expanded. He helped with Elmwood Campus additions that provided more classrooms, conference rooms, and nurses’ offices.
At the time, most of the Board’s fundraising efforts were accomplished through the Parents & Friends Organization. Mark helped establish the Development Committee, which oversaw different fundraising initiatives. He also chaired the Leadership Search Committee when Executive Director Don Burke retired, hiring Paul Scott as Mary Cariola’s new President. As Board Chair, Mark conducted the first Strategic Planning Retreat and established the Mission, Vision, and Values statement.
Past and Future 75…
Mark has been involved with the Agency for nearly forty years. He knew our founder, Mary Cariola; has been active as a parent and a supporter; and has many great memories with the Agency. He said that Mary “was the ultimate lady. She had dreams and did not let things stand in her way of getting there.” She had thanked him for his involvement but Mark said it was him, his family, and the community “who needed to thank her for what she had started and built.”
Throughout the past 75 years, the Mary Cariola Center has grown and developed in numerous ways. Mark said that a few of the biggest accomplishments were “attracting the extraordinary, caring staff, keeping the under-funded preschool program going, opening and maintaining the residences, adding respite services to the residential program, and implementing the ‘Grow Our Own’ scholarship program that offers financial help to staff for professional and educational advancement.”
In the next 75 years, Mark hopes that Mary Cariola Center can become more “interconnected with medical, behavioral, and neuroscience programs so that they can learn from each other to better help the children and youth served.” In addition to starting new programs that would benefit both students and residents, he would “love for there to be a large enough endowment, or gift from a donor that would allow the Center to pay staff what they deserve.”
