About

My name is Raissa Marks and I am committed to fostering healthy communities and empowering the people within them. I am a collaborative leader and a skilled facilitator with extensive experience leading diverse groups of people through consensus-based decision-making processes. I am also a strategic thinker with experience in policy work at both the federal and provincial levels.

In 2023, I founded my coaching and consulting business, Lily Mark, whose social purpose is to strengthen organizations and their leaders and support collaboration for change. Through Lily Mark, I provide high quality services for mission-driven organizations, large and small. My services include leadership coaching, facilitation, and organizational development support including strategic planning, succession planning, and board governance training.

My coaching practice is designed for leaders in the non-profit sector who often feel stressed and overwhelmed. I work with my coaching clients to develop strategic leadership skills, achieve clarity, and realize transformative professional and personal growth.
My facilitation style is based on collaborative and democratic principles. When facilitating a meeting or workshop, I listen closely to my clients’ needs, design a process to meet those needs, and then lead the group through the process with competence and skill.
As for organizational development, I bring my extensive experience in nonprofit management and leadership to help my clients with their unique organizational challenges.

The first 20 years of my career were spent in the non-profit sector, working for environmental and social justice organizations. I have experience at the director and executive director level including Executive Director of the New Brunswick Environmental Network, interim Executive Director with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the Nashwaak Watershed Association, IAP2 Canada, and the Petitcodiac Watershed Alliance, and Director of Government Relations with the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet). My board experience includes serving as president of the Downtown Daycare Cooperative, chair of the Aster Foundation, and board member-at-large for the Table de Quartier Sud de l’Ouest-de-l’Île, CCEDNet, and the Petitcodiac Riverkeeper. My mother tongue is English; I am also fluent in French.

My post-secondary education started with a Bachelor of Science in Environment from McGill University. From there, I completed a Master of Environmental Studies from York University that focused on environmental and sustainability education, civic engagement, and community building. I am also an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coaching Federation.

Although I currently live in Montreal, my clients hail from across Canada including Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. I primarily work with leaders of non-profit organizations, including staff and board members. My approach is based on popular education, which is founded on notions of anti-oppression and class struggle, and empowers people, collectively, to be responsible for their own learning and to effect social change.

My regular rates are $1,200-$1,500 per day for consulting services and $150-$200 per session for coaching. I recognize that smaller organizations deserve the high quality support I can provide and I don’t want to price them out of my services. Therefore, I offer reduced rates for small, grassroots organizations whose missions inspire me.