Born and raised in Gainesville, GA, Mark Casper can't remember a time when he wasn't writing, watching, or reading stories. One of his first forays into creative writing was a short story called Moon Tiger that he wrote in second grade and won an award for. In fourth grade, he followed it up with another story,The White Wolf (you may be sensing a theme here), but it was received with little fanfare. In college at the University of Georgia, he fell in love with his now-wife, black coffee, and the wild, wonderful world of brand building (at least partially inspired by Mad Men). He wrote a few short stories (the non-tiger or wolf kinds) but mainly spent his time leading Young Life or working on his pickup basketball game (still a work in progress). In 2012, Mark had his mind blown as a brand strategy intern in New York at the award-winning Now What agency, where he learned just how powerful (and fun) great brand strategy could be. After college, Mark completed a nine-month leadership program called the Charlotte Fellows which completely changed his understanding of life, work, and faith. During Fellows, he worked a part-time internship where he would routinely wake up before 5 a.m. to help lead Fun Run fundraisers for elementary schools. In 2014, after Fellows, he got hired as a brand strategy intern at BooneOakley, another small, award-winning agency, where he worked on projects for Bojangles, the Charlotte Hornets, and Goodwill. After two short stints as a writer and designer at a church and then a small design agency, Mark and his wife moved to Atlanta in 2016, where he began working as the lead copywriter for Booster, a fundraising company that's raised over $600 million for 7,500+ elementary schools around the country. He spent over four years shaping the company’s messaging across a wide range of platforms and alongside an incredible team of people. He crafted everything from sales collateral and video scripts to website content and packaging copy for branded confetti cannons (true story). One of his favorite projects at Booster was developing and writing the company’s annual character program, a video series designed to inspire over 2.6 million students every year. ​In 2020, Mark made the leap into freelance copywriting and brand strategy, where he served a bunch of awesome clients—both nonprofit and for-profit—including New Story, Dude Perfect, Plywood People, Roundtree, Cutting Edge Firewood, Kid Explorer, and yes, even his old friends at Booster. His work ranged from writing and wireframing websites to crafting long-form stories and high-impact video scripts. He has a particular knack for making complex ideas accessible, engaging, and persuasive, whether it's through a simple email series or a full-scale rebranding project. ​Alongside his freelance work, in 2020 Mark also founded the Atlanta City Fellows, a nine-month faith-based leadership program for college graduates. In his role as Executive Director, Mark designed and implemented the program’s core components, integrating professional internships, mentorships, seminary courses, and leadership development. He led three full classes of Fellows, overseeing every aspect of their development, from spiritual growth to professional skill-building. In 2024, he decided to team up with HOKAYEM full-time to do marketing, branding, and design for purpose-driven clients like City of Refuge, Reagan Consulting, Eagle Ranch, Street Grace, Capital Boutiq, Mission: Hope, Elevate Atlanta, and more. One of his favorite parts of this season has been co-leading multiple brand messaging workshops, where he guides organizations through the development of unique and resonant brand identities. As of today, Mark lives with his wife and their two kids (soon to be three) in East Atlanta, alongside their ever-expanding book collection.​

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