Mark C. Perna

Mark Charles Perna (born March 1, 1962) is a generational expert and public speaker. He is the author of Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose & Performance in Younger Generations (2018).
==Early Life and Education==
Perna was born in Short Hills, New Jersey to Joan Perna and Len Perna, the third of their four sons. It was during his childhood that Perna experienced what he would later speak and write about as “the branch-creak moment.” While climbing a tree, Perna felt the branch beneath him start to give way, prompting him, in his words, to “focus, plan and take action” in order to reach safety. This framework later became a key part of Perna’s motivational message. Perna attended Brother Rice High School in Birmingham, Michigan, where he was student council vice president, secretary, and a member of the drama club. Upon graduation in 1980, Perna enrolled at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as class president during his freshman year. He graduated in 1985https://collected.jcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1078&context=commencementprograms with a degree in Communications.
==Career==
Perna began his career as a sales representative in the Cleveland, Ohio office of Moore Business Forms. This role led Perna to begin a process of self-education that would mark his professional career.
In 1999, Perna founded TFS Results, a consulting and communications firm specializing in education and workforce development. Perna’s message centers largely on countering negative stereotypes regarding the Millennial and Z Generations, the importance of forging a human connection with students and coworkers, embracing the power of failure, and many other topics. He speaks to educational organizations, businesses, chambers of commerce, communities, and other audiences across North America.
Since 2020, Perna has served on the Coalition for Career Development Center Advisory Council, where he contributed a generational perspective to the challenges facing career and workforce development. He also served from 2007–2018 as a member of the Association for Career and Technical Education Future Horizons Committee, which was responsible for identifying emerging trends in workforce development. 
Mark is the creator of several tools for educators, including the Career Tree career exploration tool and Enrolltrack Online Enrollment System software. In 2020, Perna founded the Education with Purpose & Employment with Passion (EWP) movement to help communities close skills gaps and build stronger partnerships between education and the workforce.
==Published Works==
Perna’s book, Answering Why: Unleashing Passion, Purpose & Performance in Younger Generations, was published in September 2018. It was written to help parents, educators, and employers to understand and appreciate what Perna calls the Why Generation (collectively, the Millennial Generation and Generation Z). The book has won 8 national awards including two awards in the 2019 Independent Press Award (IPA) competition and three awards in the 13th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) competition. Since 2019, Perna has reached more than 3.5 million viewers through his weekly contributions at Forbes.com. His article, “Why Education Is About To Reach A Crisis Of Epic Proportions,” was read and shared by more than 1.7 million viewers. Perna’s podcast, The Perna Syndicate, covers education, careers, and the multigenerational workforce.
==Personal Life==
As a single father, Perna reared two sons, Matthew and Nicholas. He makes his home near Cleveland, Ohio and enjoys spending time with his two granddaughters.
Category:1962 births
Category:People from New Jersey
Category:American people
Category:John Carroll University alumni
Category:Motivational speakers
Category:Author