Mark D. Constantine, PhD

In the role as Senior Fellow & Strategic Advisor to the CEO, Mark works closely with Dr. Mims to help shape and advance Dogwood’s long-term strategic vision and direction, connect and build relationships with philanthropic partners and deepen Dogwood’s commitment to place-focused comprehensive community development in Western North Carolina. He also leads a variety of special projects and initiatives as part of the Office of the President. Prior to stepping into this role, Mark served as the Senior Vice President of Community Investment. 

During his career, Mark has served as President and CEO at Richmond Memorial Health Foundation, Senior Vice President at the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Mid South, and Assistant Executive Director at the Kathleen Price Bryan Family Fund. 

Mark served for more than a decade as a consultant to foundations and national nonprofit organizations on issues related to governance, strategy, and learning. His clients included CFED, Demos, First Nations Development Institute, Ford Foundation, Lilly Endowment, Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Southern Education Foundation.  

Mark has authored two books, Wit and Wisdom: Unleashing the Philanthropic Imagination (2009) and Travelers on the Journey: Pastors Talk about Their Lives and Commitments (2005), as well as the award-winning monograph, “Where Hope and History Rhyme: Reflections and Findings from the Mid-South Commission to Build Philanthropy (2005).” Wit and Wisdom was selected by the 2009 Philanthropy Annual Review as one of the two “notable titles” in the Social Justice Philanthropy category.  

In 2026, he was named recipient of the Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy, presented by Grantmakers In Health in recognition of leadership, innovation, achievement, creativity, and boldness in advancing health philanthropy. 

He holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business (Duke University), and a Master of Theological Studies degree from Duke Divinity School. He was a 2006/2007 Fellow of the Emerging Leaders Program directed by the Centers for Leadership at Public Values at the University of Cape Town and Duke University. He serves on the Board of Grantmakers in Aging, Duke Divinity School and Partners for Sacred Places, and has served as Founding Chair of the Virginia Funders Network, Co-Chair for the Jeffress Trust Awards Program in Research Advancing Health Equity and as a faculty member for the Grantmakers in Health Terrance Keenan Institute for Emerging Leaders in Health Philanthropy. 

Most importantly, he is the proud father of Noah Balazs Constantine.