Mark Olson

Mark is the Director of San Marcos Parks and Recreation Department with over 25 years of experience in the field of municipal Parks and Recreation. Prior to coming to San Marcos, he was the Division Manager for the City of Oceanside Parks and Recreation department. In that position, he oversaw four recreation centers, two senior centers, three aquatic centers and programming of 40+ parks, 3.5 miles of coastline and Oceanside Harbor. His division also processed over 350 special event permits annually including working with World Triathlon Corporation to host the Oceanside 70.3 Triathlon, Warner Bros. studios to film TNT’s Animal Kingdom, and World Surf League to host the annual Super Girl Pro Surf event. He managed 22 full-time staff, nearly 200 part-time staff and had a budget of over $7 million dollars.

 

Prior to Oceanside, Mark worked for the cities of Carlsbad and Poway where he oversaw programming such as Seniors, Special Events, Joint-Use Agreements, Aquatics, Capital Improvement Projects and Teen and Youth Programming, including Preschool programming.

 

Mark has BA in Business Management from Brigham Young University. He is a National Recreation and Parks Association Certified Parks and Recreation Professional. He is a current trustee and the Past President of the Escondido Union School District Board. He and his wife Joanne have three sons and one daughter and reside in South Escondido. He has been an active youth sports coach in his community, primarily youth baseball and flag football. Mark enjoys participating in and watching nearly all sports, camping (particularly at the beach and Yosemite National Park), and watching High School sports, particularly when his kids are playing, or his wife is coaching.