Mark Gunkel

I was born in Rochester, NY, graduated from Fairport High School in NYS in 1985. I Love to be outdoors sea and whitewater kayaking, mountain and road biking, hiking, camping, rock climbing, and any way there is to ski: cross-country, telemark, alpine, backcountry, and even on the water!

I'm married to Laura, who is a social worker, and I have two children: Mackenzie and Charley.

I have had a varied work background. Right after college I worked for several years in the science fields, first working for Eastman Kodak as a quality control Chemist, then with Bausch and Lomb in the R&D division, initially as a cell biologist, then as a micro-biologist. I then realized I needed to either go to grad school to progress further, or move on. I ended up going to grad school, but not in science research, I earned my science teaching certification.

My first teaching position was in NH where I taught HS chemistry, in a one-year position. I then taught MS math, science, and Health. I then moved to Stowe, VT, where I worked as a technology integration specialist, teaching teachers how to re-write the curriculum to meet the new state technology standards. After several years of integration I moved on to secondary educatiion where I designed, built, and supported several online master's degree programs for Norwich University. From there I was hired to be the director of technology at a private boarding school where my first year was a step into the trenches, totally rebuilding the school network, building a brand new computer lab, and upgrading the internet infrastructure so it was actually usable 24/7.

Then the crash of 2008 happened and I was out of a job in June 2009. I became mr. mom and basically built our house for the next 3 years while my wife Larua worked.

Now that my son is entering the 6th grade I'm stepping down as part-time mr. mom and lookig for my next adventure!