Episode Description
If the starting line was never equal, what do you owe the person still behind you?
Mark T. Harris, J.D., has spent nearly four decades moving through banking, law, academia, and government — not according to any plan, but by learning to read the wind and change course, a skill he first picked up as a sailor.
The conversation turns candid on where Mark believes we are as a culture: he argues that the idea of “equal opportunity” is a myth that obscures real inequity, and that after a generation of progress on gender, he’s watching society revert, with women viewed through a different lens than men, and men needing to show up more fully in fatherhood.
He closes with what he considers non-negotiable for any man who’s found success: pay it forward. It’s an obligation, both given and received and he believes anyone who’s made it owes something to the people still behind them.
“Everyone should be investing in young people in our communities. To young men who find success: share it.”
Key Takeaways
- Why Mark believes “equal opportunity” is a myth, and what equity actually requires instead
- The lessons of growing up in South Central Los Angeles and closing deals on Wall Street
- Why Mark believes society is reverting on gender progress and what he thinks needs to change
- What Mark believes every successful man owes the next generation
Guest
Mark T. Harris, J.D., a UC Merced continuing lecturer in economics, was recently appointed by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond to California’s TK-12 Education Healthcare Cost Workgroup — a statewide body bringing together educators, economists, and policy experts to develop policy recommendations addressing rising healthcare costs affecting school districts and educators.
Mark also serves as Managing Attorney for the Northern California and Central Valley offices of Ben Crump Law, PLLC, a national civil rights law firm; general counsel to Fresno Unified School District; and special counsel to Sacramento City Unified School District and Twin Rivers Unified School District.
He has moved between law, investment banking, academia, and government. Mark served as head of the national urban infrastructure finance group at Bear Stearns and UBS; as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Bill Clinton; as Undersecretary for California’s Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency; and as Senior Executive for External Affairs with the State Bar of California. In 2023, he was appointed by President Biden to the Export-Import Bank of the United States’ Council on Climate, and he recently received the inaugural Rev. Al Sharpton Legacy Award, recognizing his lifelong commitment to civil rights, justice, and community advocacy.
Twitter/X: @profmarktharris