Mark Travis Rivera

Mark Travis Rivera is an award-winning creative entrepreneur and CEO of The Professional Storyteller. He uses the power of storytelling to promote inclusivity. Mark's writings have appeared in The Bergen Record, Herald News, The Star-Ledger, Fox News Latino, and The Huffington Post. He contributed to the anthology Crisis and Care: Queer Activist Responses to a Global Pandemic (PM Press, 2022) and published his debut collection, Drafts: An Imperfect Collection of Writing, in August 2017. At 17, Mark founded marked dance project, becoming the youngest person in the U.S. to lead an integrated dance company for disabled and non-disabled dancers. As a person with cerebral palsy, he was inspired to help dancers find their artistic voices. As a Puerto Rican queer man, he was among the few artistic directors of colour in the U.S. disability dance field. Recently, he participated in Ballet Hispanico’s Instituto Coreográfico program as the first physically disabled Latinx choreographer. Mark has spoken at institutions like Harvard, MIT, Rutgers, and NYU. As a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant, he has addressed corporate audiences globally, including in the UK, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Israel, China, and India. His 2014 TEDx Talk, “Embracing Yourself, Embracing Your Potential,” was a success at Bergen Community College. A first-generation high school and college graduate, Mark earned a bachelor's degree in women's and gender studies with a minor in public relations from William Paterson University. He received the Campus Pride National Voice & Action Award in 2013 for his LGBTQ advocacy. He also won the Audre Lorde Award for Social Justice from John Jay College and the Lavender Legacy Award from William Paterson. Mark is a member of the WE CREATE SPACE global collective of LGBTQ+ leaders and a speaker for River + Green Speakers Bureau. He also serves as a Senior Consultant for Unlock Creative.