Mark Ray

Mark Ray is passionate about the public works profession and the essential role it plays in designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining critical infrastructure. Public works professionals make normal happen in the community they serve and securing critical infrastructure from all hazards, both human or natural caused, requires a team effort between public works and homeland security stakeholders. Mark is committed to furthering collaboration and understanding between various groups in service to the collective goal of securing critical infrastructure that is vital to our nation. In his professional role, Mark is currently the Director of Public Works/City Engineer for the City of Crystal, MN. Mark has his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master’s in Public Administration from Hamline University, and has completed the Executive Leaders Program through the Center for Defense and Homeland Security at the Naval Post Graduate School. Mark currently is the chair of the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government Coordinating Council (SLTTGCC which represents the American Public Works Association on the National Homeland Security Consortium (NHSC), and serves on the Hennepin County Emergency Management’s Strategy Council. Mark is the founder of the Hennepin County Public Works Emergency Management Group and has spearheaded the development and adoption of the Minnesota Statewide Public Works Mutual Aid Pact. Mark is also the former chair of the American Public Works Association’s Emergency Management Committee and has written over 20 published articles on a wide range of topics; including themes around public works, homeland security, and resiliency. Mark has received a numerous national awards and recognitions from groups including American Public Works Association, National Weather Service, American Infrastructure Magazine, and Homeland Security Today. One of Mark’s mottos is “Actions speak louder than words” and it is with that approach that Mark is committed to actually doing things and supporting efforts to secure critical infrastructure from all hazards.