Jay B. Marks, Ph.D. is a widely-respected educator who has been in education since 1991, where he began his career as a Special Education Teacher at Northern High School with the Detroit Public School System. During his career he has served as a classroom teacher for 17 years with both Detroit and Southfield Public School Systems, as well as an educational consultant on the national level. Currently, Dr. Marks is an educational consultant with Oakland Schools (the Intermediate School District in Oakland County, Michigan) where he serves and supports the professional development needs of the 28 school districts within Oakland County. He is highly sought after for his work in the areas of Social Justice, Cultural Competence, Courageous Conversations about Race, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Educating African American Males, Closing the Achievement Gap, Student Engagement, Differentiated Instruction, and Urban Education. In addition to his professional work in the field of education, he has been mentoring youth since 1989, and has started several mentoring programs in the Metropolitan Detroit Area as a result of his experience.
His academic credentials include a B.S. degree from Western Michigan University (1990), M.A. degree from University of Detroit Mercy (1995), and an Ed. Specialist Certificate (1997) and Ph.D. (2005) in Curriculum and Instruction both from Wayne State University. As a graduate student, Dr. Marks studied abroad at Oxford University in Oxford, England as a student in their British Studies Program.
Dr. Marks is an active member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and the proud father of two beautiful daughters, Amari (13) and Jalia (10).