For some, professional success can be measured in salary and net worth, but for Herndon-area resident Mark Russell success has a more personal meaning than mere numbers.
Four years after Mark Russell and his wife Helen's third son Martin was born with brain damage in 1995, Russell left his high-salary consulting position permanently to devote himself to a career in the non-profit sector of advocacy and services for children with disabilities. He has been involved in advocacy and services for children with disabilities ever since.
Last month, Mark Russell, an 11-year resident of the Franklin Farm subdivision in Herndon, made his most recent career adjustment when he was named the executive director of KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) USA, a national service-oriented non-profit for children with disabilities based in Washington, D.C. He had previously held administrative roles at the Arc of Northern Virginia, a non-profit advocacy and service group for children with mental retardation and the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation, an advocacy group for people with mental retardation.
A little more than a year and a half ago, their son Martin died. But the loss has only served to further motivate Mark Russell, who said he now ties his work every day with the memory of his son.
THE TRANSFORMATION from private business professional to non-profit public service leader didn't happen over night.
When his son was born with a brain injury in 1995, he and his wife began getting involved with other parents who had children in similar situations. It was in working with these other families that Mark Russell said he first developed his passion for supporting individuals like Martin.
"We found a number of other parents working together with policy and public service duties — it was a really strong community and I got a lot of value out of my work," Mark Russell said. "I found that I enjoyed my volunteer work with these families more than my professional work and decided that life's too short and I got involved with non-profits."
The change was not made without some sacrifices, his wife, Helen, said. By leaving the consulting firm that the couple had both worked at for non-profit work, Russell was walking away from about three times more salary than he would have made in the private sector.
"You're certainly leaving a whole lot of money and a lot of prestige behind, but there's also a different kind of prestige in the non-profit sector as well," Helen Russell said. "Who's going to argue with somebody who wants to spend their time helping other people?"
The most difficult thing for her throughout her husband's work has been in finding a way to stay as active as her husband in her work with children with disabilities, Helen Russell said.
"I really struggle sometimes with finding where to go and how to continue to honor [Martin's] legacy, and I think that Mark does that everyday," she said. "It's caused me to do a lot more things in the way of volunteering and working with several families going through the same things we have."
She added that she and her husband's other children, Marjorie, 19, Harrison, 16, and Hayley, 9, try to find new ways to volunteer with children with disabilities on a regular basis.
THE NON-PROFIT sector was able to find an immediate use for Mark Russell's skill set, in that he was a former business executive with 15 years of management experience, said Kathy May, a former co-worker at The Arc of Northern Virginia.
"Mark is focused, he's very driven — he is able to take those qualities, his previous organizational experience and his talent in working with the business community and channel that in with his commitment to" people with disabilities and their families, May said.
But working in a business where the subject of everyday activities hit so close to home can be difficult, Mark Russell said.
"When you follow a career in non-profits and you have a family with the situation that you're advocating, your work begins reflecting in a large part of your life," he said. "It becomes like where I get up, my work is my entire day, and then I go to bed."
May said that it can often personalize a professional struggle in ways that make the potential of failure more emotional.
"It's very hard, keeping something separate from being personal, especially when you're talking about advocacy," she said. "If something happens and it makes you feel like you're a lower priority than something like transportation, it makes it very difficult."
PUTTING FORTH EFFORTS to make sure that children with disabilities and their families have places to go for fun and exercise is something that has made Mark Russell feel excited about his work with KEEN USA.
"When my son Martin was born, the time when he was happiest is the day that he spent with people who cared for him," Mark Russell said. "To come to a place and have pure fun and get exercise, those are the times that made him the happiest, and it is the memory of the fun that I had with my son that keeps me with my eyes on my goal with KEEN."
The organization focuses many activities like supervised tennis, bowling and swimming in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and St. Louis, opening up these services for individuals with an increased need for a recreational outlet for families with children with disabilities, Mark Russell said.
"You could imagine a single mom with lots of things going on in her life, with work and caring for her son or daughter," he said, "this type of program would be so important for somebody like that."
The end result, Mark Russell hopes, is in reaching more families and affecting their lives positively.
"What we want is to touch more kids, more families and give them access to these activity sessions and make their lives more enjoyable," he said. "If I can make sure these kids have a place to go where they have the ability to stay active, I'll feel like I'm doing my job."