Mark Mahurin knows something about change. He’s spent 43 years witnessing it, facilitating it, and believing in it—even when others didn’t. As a veteran of the criminal justice system, he brings expertise, experience, and a deeply personal commitment to The Freedom to Choose Project.
We are honored to welcome him to our Board of Directors.
A Career Built on Second Chances
Mark began his career with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department in August 1982. Over 31 years, he rose through the ranks to Lieutenant before retiring in 2013. But retirement didn’t slow him down. He continued working with the Sheriff’s Office through June 2025, bringing his total service to 43 years.
His career focused on one central question: How do we help people change?
Mark became a recognized expert in evidence-based programming by both the National Institute of Corrections and the Urban Institute. He designed and oversaw Santa Barbara County’s two Parolee Day Reporting Centers, which have processed about 300 parolees a year, providing job training, education, housing, food, and clothing.
He championed the transition from Jail to a community model. He helped design the Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail, ensuring that every housing unit had its own program space, allowing all incarcerated individuals to have greater access to education.
But his commitment to this work didn’t begin because it was his day job. It began with his father.
A Personal Motivation
Mark’s father was formerly incarcerated. Growing up, Mark witnessed something that would shape his entire career.
“What I learned growing up is that in fact, people can change if they choose and if they put the work in,” Mark says. “I helped my dad get a full pardon in 1986, which is rare, very rare.”
That experience gave Mark a clear purpose. “I went into this business understanding that there’s an opportunity if we offer it for people to change their dynamic, change the position they’re in, maybe change their thinking processes.”
18 Years with Freedom to Choose
Mark first connected with Freedom to Choose about 18 years ago when co-founders Drs. Bonnie and David Paul were invited to a day reporting center oversight meeting. That same day, Mark invited them to tour the jail.
Since then, Mark has attended the Freedom to Choose program three times. He brought all of his staff to attend on two separate occasions.
“I’m a firm believer that what they do has value and has a significant impact on those who participate in the process,” he says.
He’s seen that impact firsthand.
Mark recalls a phone call from the sheriff about two officers facing disciplinary action. Both were ordered to attend Freedom to Choose as an alternative to more severe consequences. They arrived, in Mark’s words, “kicking and screaming.”
One officer was spiraling out of control, on the verge of losing his career. After the three-day program, he came to Mark and apologized for being so difficult coming into the process.
“It saved his career and in fact his marriage,” Mark says. “He actually made it to retirement, is still married to the same woman, and credits a lot of that to the opportunities that Freedom to Choose opened up in his thinking processes.”
What Freedom to Choose Does
Ask Mark to explain what makes the program work, and he’ll tell you it’s hard to put into words. But he tries anyway.
“Freedom to Choose really highlights people’s ability to take their own accountability, choose their own path, and choose their own method of success. And again, it’s a choice.”
For people serving long sentences, hope can disappear. Life becomes about surviving day to day.
“What Freedom to Choose brings to the table is a new way to think, a new opportunity to readjust your processes of how your brain is dealing with data, making better and different choices. And in fact, igniting that hope that there is a possibility of change, there is the possibility of better.”
Why the Board, Why Now
After 18 years of supporting Freedom to Choose and working to bring the program into Santa Barbara County’s jail facilities, Mark saw joining the board as a natural next step.
“This is just another opportunity for me to continue doing what I believe in and making an impact not only in our communities, but other communities elsewhere,” he says. “If I’m not doing that, then I shouldn’t be doing anything at all.”
His perspective on redemption is clear.
“At the end of the day, there is such a thing as redemption, and there is such a thing as becoming a different person than who you once were, making those decisions that you were making then, making better and very different decisions now. And I think redemption has to play a part in that process.”
We are deeply grateful to have Mark Mahurin on our board. His expertise, his experience, and his unwavering belief in human potential will help guide our organization as we continue to grow.
Welcome, Mark.
