Staff Biography
Mark Amacher, MSW
CWDS Workforce Development Facilitator
mamacher@sdsu.edu
Mark Amacher is a Workforce Development Facilitator with Child Welfare Development Services at the Academy for Professional Excellence. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Point Loma Nazarene University and his master’s degree in Social Work from California State University, Stanislaus. With 12 years of experience in Child Welfare, Mark specializes in safety and risk assessment, extended foster care, Safety Organized Practice, Child and Family Team meetings, policy and curriculum development, Houselessness, K-12 school settings, classroom teaching, and training.
Mark began his career as a Residential Care Worker for New Alternatives and has held multiple positions within the Child Welfare field. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Mark worked as a Program Manager for Catholic Charities’ Dioceses of Santa Rosa, where he oversaw programs for youth and adults who were unhoused. After graduating with his master’s degree, Mark began working as a Social Worker with Stanislaus County Child Welfare Services, serving transitional-age foster youth.
Most recently, Mark taught as an adjunct professor at Point Loma Nazarene University’s School of Social Work and completed his hours for his Pupil Personnel Services Credential for the Monarch School in San Diego. Mark joined the Academy for Professional Excellence in 2023, where he currently provides training development services and simulation facilitation to public child welfare staff.
Mark is dedicated to utilizing the opportunities education provides as a pathway toward advancing future and current Social Work practitioners. He seeks to foster an environment for authentic dialogical relationships and works towards modeling a culturally responsive approach to Child Welfare practice. He believes that by exchanging knowledge and creating intentionality in a Social Worker’s growth, one can see improved outcomes with the people they work with.
When Mark is not in the classroom, you can find him going on community bike rides around San Diego, frequenting local coffee shops, and attempting to play disc golf.