Bio: 

Mark W. Lamar is Associate Professor of Professional Practice and the Executive Director of Field Education at the Rutgers University School of Social Work. He works closely with a field education staff of 13 on the school’s Newark, New Brunswick and Camden campuses who assist over 1,200 students training to become professional social workers in more than 800 health care, advocacy, education and social service organizations. Mr. Lamar collaborates with the school’s administration, faculty and development office to support the education of social work students. He also works closely with social work professionals, students and members of the community who serve in advisory roles to the School of Social Work.

Mark Lamar has taught in the MSW program since 1997, both as a part time lecturer and as a member of the faculty. From 2001 to 2006, he taught Health Care Policy and Health Care Economics at the Rider University School of Business in Lawrenceville, NJ.

Prior to joining the faculty at Rutgers in 2013, Mr. Lamar was Executive Director of the Family Guidance Center Corporation, located in Mercer County, NJ. There, he led a nonprofit organization with an annual budget of $6.3 million and 90 staff, providing special education, mental health, addictions, and financial counseling to over 5,000 people each year.

While at Family Guidance Center Corporation, Mr. Lamar led the agency through two nonprofit corporate mergers, multiple triennial reaccreditations by the Council of Accreditation (COA), the purchase and renovation of a 100 year old elementary school, and the creation of a development department and an endowment fund. He also led the organization through a strategic plan for cultural competence and bilingualism in Spanish and English.

Mr. Lamar began his social work career providing psychotherapy to individuals, families, and children in central New Jersey and Rhode Island, and supervision to professional clinical staff and MSW students from Rutgers, Boston College and the University of Texas at Austin.

He received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Rutgers Graduate School of Management. Prior to this, Mr. Lamar received a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from Rutgers School of Social Work as casework major. He earned his BA in History at Boston University.

Mr. Lamar is a New Jersey Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an NASW - NJ certified Clinical Social Work Supervisor.

In the community, Mark Lamar served as vice president, Executive Forum, United Way of Greater Mercer County, on the Resource Investment Committee of United Way of Greater Mercer County and on the United Way Campaign Cabinet. He was vice president and treasurer, New Jersey Family Service Association, and served as chair, Professional Advisory Committee, Mercer County Mental Health Board. He was also a member of the Mercer County Gang Task Force and a member of the Minority Concerns Committee of the Mercer County Youth Services Commission. From 2011 to 2013, he served as an advisory board member for the Trenton-based Institute of Wonderful Women Working for Empowerment.

Since 2002, Mr. Lamar has been a trustee of the Puerto Rican Community Center in Trenton, serving terms as president, vice president, and secretary. He is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education, and the American Association of University Professors.