Mark Pope: Counseling's Sacred Weaver

History, typically demarcated by eras, events, narratives, and inventions, is often best told through the sharing of stories about people. These special persons provide the benchmarks by which we understand our past as it informs our present and provides hope for our future. In the counseling profession, leaders are often recognized for their professional contributions (e.g., beginning a profession or organization), their methods (e.g., developing a new method of counseling), or their willingness to take action before the moment for action is widely recognized (e.g., advocating for marginalized populations). For examples in counseling's history, many look to Jesse B. Davis as the touchstone to the early development of school counseling (Pope, 2009); Frank Parsons as the father of career guidance (Briddick, 2009); Carl Rogers, whose person-centered approach helps counselors even today conceptualize how to be present with a client (Kirschenbaum, 1979); Thelma Daly as a mentor and role model for so many women and persons of color (Coker, 2011); and Courtland Lee as a foreseer of the growing diversity in our society (Gladding, 2011). These names are but a few among the many who could be mentioned that instantly situate us counselors in a place, time, or context that captures the essence of our professional identity. The profile that we present in this article attempts to capture the historical legacy and essence of Mark Pope. Self-described as "a poor gay Cherokee boy from southeast Missouri" (Pope, 2005), Pope has spent 25 years contributing to the counseling profession as a prolific scholar; an internationally known expert on issues pertaining to career, multiculturalism, and the history of counseling; and a leader in the profession. More so than the accomplishments listed on his curriculum vitae, Pope is most widely known as a sacred weaver of people. Through his mentorship, leadership, advocacy, and diligence, he has woven a rich and diverse tapestry of counseling professionals into a professional legacy that continues to lead, advocate, and influence counseling as we step boldly into our next historic era. Our effort to profile Mark Pope necessitates a unique approach because of the essence of the man. Instead of relying primarily on a personal interview, we chose to interview widely recognized leaders who have borne witness to his career. We believe that it is only through others (i.e., peers, colleagues, friends, compatriots) that Pope, the sacred weaver of a professional tapestry of people, can truly be profiled. We organized this article around six core themes through which we tell Pope's story. We identified the themes, and they were vetted by Pope. Naturally, they overlap in many instances. The selected themes describe him as a transformative cultural agent, networker/collaborator, leader, advocate for social justice, mentor, and scholar within the historical context of counseling. Pope helped us identify counseling professionals who could speak to each of these thematic areas. We contacted these individuals via e-mail, gave them several general questions to consider before they would be interviewed, and then interviewed them either by telephone or e-mail. We then sent to each author the resulting transcript for their final approval. * The Transformative Cultural Agent In exploring the legacy of Mark Pope as an individual who has boldly advanced into new areas of exploration, advancement, service, and leadership, we chose to ask Anneliese Singh about Mark's role as a transformative cultural agent. Singh is an associate professor with Counseling and Human Development Services at the University of Georgia at Athens and longtime collaborator with Pope. As Singh recalled her earliest interactions with Pope, she remembered how he encouraged her to join the division of the American Counseling Association (ACA) that ultimately became the ALGBTIC (Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Issues in Counseling) at a time when the "T" was years away from inclusion, and other elements of diversity remained underrepresented within the group. …