From a young age, Mark Ramseur learned that flexibility and adaptability were some of the key traits he needed for success. With a father in the Air Force, Mark learned to adapt to lots of new people and places as his family moved from city to city, eventually setting down roots in San Antonio. After high school, he moved to Dallas to attend SMU, where he discovered his passion for civil engineering. “As a civil engineer, you’re in a unique space to impact the built environment around you - that’s what I love about this profession,” he said. After receiving his degree, he moved to Miami, Florida to begin his career and met his wife, Lori. In 1990, they moved to Orlando to start a family.

As Mark was making strides in his career, his family faced some unexpected challenges. “I reached a pivotal moment in my career and my life when we had a son that was born with special needs,” Mark said, “We were struggling to navigate everything, and a local nonprofit, C.I.T.E. (Center for Independence, Technology & Education), stepped in to help us find all the doctors, specialists, and therapies we would need. It opened my eyes to the work that community organizations and nonprofits do. I joined that nonprofit’s board, and from there I started reaching out to friends and business colleagues. It led me to realize that with business we have an obligation; what we do can positively impact the communities we live and work in.”

After 13 years in Florida, Mark returned to Texas to be closer to his extended family and seek out more services for his son. He transferred to the Austin office of the engineering firm he worked at, but due to his extensive travel schedule, he wasn’t able to get involved locally as much as he would have liked. Then, in 2012, he took a position at Pape-Dawson Engineers and finally was able to lean into his passion for giving back to the community once again.

Photo: Mark and his wife Lori attend the Big Brothers Big Sisters Ice Ball.

“In 2014, I joined the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas and got involved with several other local charities and community organizations, including Leadership Austin and RECA. My entryway to the Austin Chamber came when Tom Griebel from Pape-Dawson invited me to join the Chamber’s Transportation and Local Government committees and attend some Chamber events. I saw that the Austin Chamber was the hub for the whole business community, and knew it was where I wanted to give my time.”

Mark joined the Austin Chamber Board of Directors in 2018 and began to deepen his involvement, playing a pivotal role in shaping strategic initiatives and community outreach efforts. “I was asked to do lots of things, and generally, I said yes!,” he said. “When Jeremy Martin and Ali Khataw, the board chair at the time, approached me to see if I would be interested in being the Chamber’s board chair, I was surprised but ready for the challenge. Such amazing folks have held this role, and I was excited to follow in their footsteps.”

Now that he’s in the role of board chair, Mark is prepared for anything that comes his way. “It’s so important to be flexible and adaptable. Several former board chairs told me that they had an idea of what to expect, but life happens…the world happens. So many unexpected things pop up and we need to be ready for anything that comes our way in 2025.”

Mark says he’s looking forward to continuing to elevate the Austin Chamber as the premier business organization in the city. “It’s impressive how the Austin Chamber has evolved. It’s important that we continue to flex our muscle and show the positive impact that business has on our community – at the Texas Legislature, at the city, and at the county level. We are in a great place with incredible leadership – the future looks so bright, and I’m excited to be part of that. I feel like 2025 will be an exciting year for business in Austin.”