When Mark Robbins joined Somerville, he was welcomed for more than just his project experience. He has spent his career lifting up others as a mentor and coach, and his role as Senior Project Architect gives him the opportunity to serve as a resource to the rest of the team.

Approachable, good natured, and wielding decades of experience in the field, Mark is a model mentor. He considers himself a former lone wolf who has softened a bit over time to recognize the value in providing guidance to less experienced team members. It was at the University of Illinois at Chicago – which Mark calls “one of the greatest experiences of my life” — where he learned a sense of studio, collaboration, detail and high design.

It all ties back to a self-imposed responsibility: that he should make a positive impact on the environment in whatever endeavor presents itself. Those guiding principles are at the heart of his design process, from creating or improving existing designs, to being a steward of the environment and considering and implementing available assets. The latter examines what the client has available – the assets they bring to bear – in order to create responsible solutions together.

As far back as he can remember, he was the one in the family redesigning the space around him, building and sketching. When a career placement test indicated he was best suited to be either a CIA agent or an architect, he melded his ability to think abstractly and his interest in built environment to launch a career helping others solve issues with their surroundings.

His off-the-job energies have been focused the past 10 years on starting The Miracle League of the Fox Valley in Appleton, an organized baseball league for children ages 4-19 with intellectual or physical disabilities. He and his wife were looking for an activity for the youngest of their two sons, who has autism. The two designed the field, drove fundraising, built it on city land, gifted it to the city and still manage its day-to-day operations.