Stay-at-home dad turns nonprofit grad

Special to Campus News by Gail Keegan

Being a stay-at-home dad for a bright and energetic 5-year-old has provided Mark Klemens with a host of challenges.

"Child-rearing is the hardest job I've ever had," Klemens said, but it also allowed him the flexibility to pursue his Master of Nonprofit Management degree (MNO) at the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations.

The Pittsburgh native already had earned a B.A. in English from the College of Wooster, a J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and an M.A. in English from the University of Sydney in Australia.

His experience as a trial lawyer helped him develop strong interpersonal skills which he found to be a "good fit" with the MNO degree.

Klemens learned of the Mandel Center from his wife, Barbara Gracious, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the CWRU School of Medicine. Hearing an ad on the radio for an upcoming open house, she urged Klemens to attend, knowing he would welcome the opportunity to explore his interest in the nonprofit sector.

At the open house Klemens met a Mandel Center alumna who assured him that maintaining the balance between academic demands and parenting responsibilities was possible. With this encouragement he enrolled as a full-time MNO student.

Consistent with his desire to take advantage of interesting opportunities, Klemens participated in the center's externship program, working as a program officer for the Stocker Foundation. He was also active in the Mandel Center Mentoring Program, which paired him with Susan Lajoie Eagan, then executive vice president of the Cleveland Foundation and now executive director of the Mandel Center.

In the near future, Klemens hopes to collaborate with a nonprofit organization to develop a young author's program in which children are encouraged to design and write their own books—an interest he developed while working with his daughter Virginia at her preschool.

He is also exploring opportunities with nonprofit organizations in the Rochester, N.Y., area where he and his family plan to move in June.

"There is always a place for new ideas," Klemens said. "My goal is to work with really good people."

In addition, Klemens boasts an impressive list of academic and professional awards. As founder of Balcones International Press, the first book he published was A Melbourne Age, Australian Book of the year in 1998.

Academic accomplishments include Fulbright Scholar at the University of Sydney and the 1978 winner of the William A. Galpin Award for scholastic and extracurricular excellence from the College of Wooster.

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