Mark Earley Biography

From a Past of Slamming Prison Doors Shut to Today, Opening Inmates' Hearts to Hope, Mark Earley Leads a Faith-Based Solution to America's Prison Problems

In his past political life as Virginia's attorney general, Mark Earley's job was to be tough on crime and criminals. Today, Earley serves as president of PFM, comprised of Prison Fellowship, the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, and their families, and BreakPoint, which equips Christians to live out their faith in the culture. His passion involves opening the hearts of America's more than 2 million prisoners to a message of hope that offers freedom like they've never known before and encouraging all Christians to develop a Christian worldview.

Hand-picked by his predecessor, PFM Founder Chuck Colson, Earley's days at the Lansdowne, Va.-based organization are varied:
 

• Some days he's a CEO, meeting with senior staffers to draft a strategic plan or determine resource allocation for an organization with more than 300 employees, some 50,000 volunteers and $50 million in annual revenue.

• Some days Earley is a radio host, offering Christians concrete, scriptural applications to real-world challenges through his commentary on BreakPoint-which is aired on more than 1,000 radio outlets nationwide with an estimated listening audience of more than 1 million-and through his 60-second daily radio commentary, The Point, and its companion blog, www.ThePoint.BreakPoint.org.

• Other days Earley is a lobbyist, meeting with members of the U.S. House or Senate to weigh in on proposed legislation or testifying before Congress on issues such as prison rape and prisoner re-entry.

• On still other days Earley is speaking to college students, church congregations or corrections officials about the importance of faith-based solutions to crime or the significance of having a Christian worldview.

• On his favorite days, Earley is an advocate and encourager for prisoners, often sporting a do-rag and riding a Harley into prison to preach the message that God is raising the next generation of Christian leaders from behind prison walls.

Regardless of which role Earley assumes on a particular day, his passion is always the same-reaching out to America's prisoners and their families to reduce staggering re-arrest rates and reverse the destructive cycle of crime, while influencing Christians, both young and old, to live out their faith in an ever-changing world.

Mark Earley Biographical Profile

Vocation

• President and CEO, PFM (Feb. 1, 2002-present)

• Virginia Attorney General (1997-2001)

• Virginia State Senator (1987-1997)

• Attorney, Tavss, Fletcher, Earley, and King, Norfolk, Va. (1982-1997)

• Campus Ministry with The Navigators,(1977-1982)

Education

• B.A., College of William & Mary (1976)

• J.D., Marshall-Wythe School of Law (1982)

Personal

• Born July 26, 1954, Norfolk, Va.

• Married to the former Cynthia Ellen Breithaupt of Waynesboro, Va.

• Father of six children

• Resides in Lansdowne, Va.

Selected Appearances in Television and Radio

• American Family Radio

• Bill Bennett's Morning in America

• British Broadcasting Corporation

• Bloomberg News Radio's Simply Put

• CJOB Radio's Adler On Line

• CNN

• CourtTV.com

• Faith Broadcasting

• Family News in Focus Radio

• FOX News Channel

• The Inspiration Network (INSP)

• Janet Parshall's America

• Jay Sekulow Live!

• KKLA Radio's The Frank Pastore Show

• Moody Broadcasting's Primetime America

• National Public Radio (NPR)

• NBC Nightly News

• Salem Radio Network

• The 700 Club (CBN)

• UNI Radio

• USA Radio's Point of View

• WAVA Radio's The Don Kroah Show

• WTLN Radio's The Road Home

Selected Citations in Newspapers & Magazines

• Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• The Associated Press Newswires

• The Baltimore Sun

• Chicago Tribune

• Christianity Today

• Des Moines Register

• The Christian Science Monitor

• Houston Chronicle

• Newsday

• The New York Times

• Orlando Sentinel

• Religion News Service Newswires

• Style Weekly

• The Virginian-Pilot

• The Washington Post

• The Washington Times

• WORLD magazine

Selected Citations in Web-Based Publications

• Acton Institute PowerBlog

• BreakPoint

• CBN.com

• ChristianityToday.com

• Family News in Focus

• FoxNews.com

• PowerLine (blog)

Topics of Expertise

• Christian Worldview

• Crime/Criminal Justice

• Evangelicals and Politics

• Faith- and Values-Based Prison Programs

• Mentoring

• Post-Release Prisoner Care/Prisoner Re-Entry

• Prisoner/Prison Reformation

• Prisons/Prisoner Care/Families of Prisoners

• Prison Rape

• Teens and Culture

-30-