John Mark Hamilton

John Mark Hamilton was born in Bloomington, Indiana. His family moved to Indianapolis when he was in grade school and he ultimately graduated from that city’s North Central High School (1977). Hamilton attended Harvard University, where he graduated (1981) Cum Laude, with an A.B. degree in philosophy. After college, he spent two years working as a conference reservationist and waiter in Colorado. Hamilton entered the Indiana University School of Law in 1983, receiving his JD, Summa Cum Laude, Order of the Coif, in 1986. Hamilton has had a distinguished career, primarily in the public and nonprofit sectors, focused on increasing economic justice and opportunity, social and health services, civil rights, and environmental stewardship. In 1993, he began the process of organizing the nonprofit City First Bank of D.C. (City First), a certified Community Development Financial Institution dedicated to strengthening low-to-moderate-income communities. Within ten years, City First had sparked over $1billion in investments and has become a nationally regarded community development finance organization supporting innovation and economic opportunity. Hamilton led two Indiana state agencies and served as an elected official. As the Secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, he oversaw Indiana\u27s social safety net and a staff of 10,000 with an annual budget of $6 billion. He also worked to protect air, water and land as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. He has also served as an elected member of the Board of Trustees for the Monroe County Community School Corporation. Since 2016, Hamilton has served as the mayor of Bloomington. Hamilton has taught as an adjunct faculty member in the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs, teaching high-performance government and administrative law. He has served on the law school\u27s Environmental Law Advisory Board since 2009 and received the school\u27s Distinguished Service Award in 1997.https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/1231/thumbnail.jp