Mark Smesrud

Mark Smesrud is the Regional Director, Social Enterprise Operations for CEO’s Mountain Plains region encompassing Colorado and Oklahoma. Mark is responsible for ensuring the quality of our social enterprise operations for our participants, staff, and crew partners. Mark brings a desire for continuous improvement, culture development, and overall impact to all of his work. He joined CEO in December of 2021 as Site Director in Denver managing all local operations. In 2024 Mark was promoted to State Director in Colorado stewarding our work in Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Since July of 2025 Mark has been serving in his current role.
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Prior to coming to CEO Mark was the Founder and Executive Director of Purple Door Coffee, a job training social enterprise employing unhoused teens and young adults. He served in that role for nearly 10 years. Mark holds an MBA from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor's Degree from York University.

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