For the past eight years Mark Bieraugel has been the business librarian at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly, and works as a paid research consultant through the local Small Business Development Center. Prior to their coming to Cal Poly they worked for two years at Tacoma Community College and Edmonds Community College as a reference and instruction librarian. For the first ten years of their library career they worked at companies doing competitive intelligence and business research.

Mark is a non-binary gay person. Their gender expression is a mix of traditional male and female clothing and accessories. Combining a vigorous business background and an understanding of organizational culture, Mark has a unique and practical take on the challenges libraries face in diversity and inclusivity issues.

During their time at Cal Poly, Mark has actively been involved in diversity and inclusion efforts on campus. They have served as chair of their library’s diversity and inclusivity committee, which advises the library dean on actions the library should take. They have also served on the executive committee of the PRIDE faculty staff association, and was nominated for a campus-wide diversity award.

Mark has spoken about equity, diversity, and inclusion at a number of venues. Most recently Mark spoke to Mojang Studios, creators of Minecraft, during their PRIDE Week on how their employees can create a more welcoming and inclusive space for their non-binary employees.

At the most recent IDEAL ‘19 Conference in Columbus Ohio, their fifteen-minute interactive talk “Are You Ready for a Non-Binary Job Applicant and Co-Worker? Creating a Fabulous and Welcoming Workplace for Non-Binary Employees” had over 75 attendees. They gave the same presentation to his colleagues at Cal Poly. They created and delivered a webinar on “How to find your fit, researching corporate culture” as part of a career readiness series for queer students. This talk covered how organizational culture influences how you’ll be treated at work as a queer person. They recently spoke to a large group of business people on the importance of pronouns and how to integrate pronoun use into a workplace environment for the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce. As part of the Cal Poly Experience initiative, they spoke about their experiences on campus and their gender expression and their video was featured on the Cal Poly website.

Location: California

Keywords = Business, Equity, Inclusion, LGBTQ+, Organizational Culture, Research

$ Speaking Fee (speaker requests that client provides accommodations, meals, and an honorarium.)

Willing to Travel

Gabrielle Barnes

Windsor, Connecticut
K.T. Vaughan

Lexington, Virginia
Twanna Hodge

Gainesville, Florida
Heidi Rabinowitz

Boynton Beach, Florida