Mark Powelson is a former executive in the PBS system who developed the first PBS-owned nonprofit entity devoted to creating, publishing, and marketing materials related to national PBS programs. These products are sold through retail channels but also direct to consumers through "spots" and promotional "tags" that direct people to 800 numbers.

He has also worked in the for-profit arena as a marketing specialist for a major infomercial producer, and as the vice president of marketing for a new and highly successful catalog and web marketing company that offers European import furniture for sale direct to consumers, as part of a management team that included the former CEO of Eddie Bauer and the head of catalog marketing for William Sonoma and Pottery Barn.

Mr. Powelson is currently a theology student at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and does consulting and marketing work for nonprofit clients. He is on the Board of Trustees of the Zellerbach Family Foundation in San Francisco.