Scot Marken, MHA CEO
Scot Marken joined MHA as its CEO in June 2012. He has spent the past twenty years founding, building and leading innovative organizations serving the nonprofit sector.
Currently, Scot serves on the Board of Directors of South Florida Behavioral Health Network, which oversees nearly $80 million in state of Florida funding for mental health and substance abuse issues in Greater Miami and the Florida Keys. He is also long-time member and supporter of The Balanced Mind Foundation (formerly known as Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation), and a member of National Alliance for Mental Illness.
From 2004 through 2011, Scot served as a lead voice for South Florida’s philanthropic and nonprofit communities as President & CEO of Donors Forum of South Florida, a regional membership association of charitable foundations, corporate grantmakers, individual philanthropists, and local government funders. Representing the country’s 8th largest metro market, including Greater Miami, Fort Lauderdale and the Palm Beaches, Scot provided education, management assistance, networking and collaborative opportunities to more than 150 funders and 500 nonprofits annually. In this role, Scot was responsible for $1 million in grantmaking to address long-term mental health needs of individuals who had lived through hurricanes.
Prior to his work at Donors Forum, Scot headed up an international philanthropic and nonprofit management consulting firm. Over five years his national and international clients included Ericsson, FEMA, Rotary International, Best Buddies, NeighborWorks America, and Zero to Three.
During the past ten years Scot has given more than 100 presentations related to philanthropy, charitable giving and nonprofit management at the local, regional, national and international levels. He is considered an expert resource on philanthropy and charitable giving and has been involved in more than 50 stories with media outlets including MSNBC.com, Newsweek, Christian Science Monitor, BBC Worldwide, CNN Newsmakers, Miami Herald, South Florida Business Journal, Sun-Sentinel, and others.
Shortly after moving to Miami in 1993, Scot co-founded Hands On Miami. Under his volunteer and then professional leadership as inaugural CEO, the organization grew to become the central resource for volunteerism in Greater Miami that engaged nearly 20,000 volunteers.
Scot has a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University and has worked with the university to counsel graduating students on careers in the nonprofit sector and philanthropy.