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Dr. Carl Mack
Carl Bernard Mack is the Executive Director for National society of Black Engineer (NSBE). On March 1, 2005, Mack was named as the fourth executive director of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), one of the nation’s largest student-governed organizations. Dr. Mack is one of the most humble and down to earth people of his position. He made no hesitation in welcoming questions whether business or personal. Far too often we are faced with executives who do not take the time out to know the people in their organization. This includes employees, or alike, because in their head they are bigger than themselves. Dr. Mack has grown the NSBE organization from 12,000 to over 36,000 members. He went on to say that we should have 100,000 members today for the 37 years in operation. He shared that NSBE should be as powerful in members like the urban league and NAACP because we have been around for so long. The reason for NSBE not having 100,000 member is because many of the students once graduated from college get busy with life and NSBE is not as priority. To understand the dynamics and strategy of NSBE, an understanding of its history is necessary.
Six people founded NSBE at Purdue University in 1975: John Logan (deceased),Edward Coleman, George Smith, Stanley Kirtley (deceased), Brian Harris, and Anthony
Harris. Their nickname is ‘The Chicago Six.’ Now if you were to be at a convention, this is the region that is considered the mother location of the organization. All of their thoughts were put into the development of this organization including the logo. The NSBE “logo” breakdown is as such: the torch symbolizes the everlasting burning desire to achieve success as engineers in our present society. The lightning bolts represent the striking impact that will be felt upon society and industry. This is as a result of the contributions and achievements made by the National Society of Black Engineers. NSBE has grown from the six founding members to a globally reorganized organization.
To manage this global organization of over 36,000 members, it’s divided up into regions or chapters. These regions are located in the United States and globally. They are governed by an executive board. Each Region Chair represents its region on a national level. The national board then governs the entire organization. Chairperson Calvin Phelps is considered to be number one in the organization for this period of 2011-2012 and his supported board members. Executive Director Dr. Carl Mack is apart of the World Headquarter (WHQ) in Alexandra Virginia. His Leaderships skills are required for the responsibilities of growth in memberships, jobs, funding and opportunities. This is key to the organization's success.
Dr. Carl Mack's role is to design, develop and implement strategic plans for their organization. He also to find creative ways to do this in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner. He is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the organization. This includes managing committees and staff and developing business plans in collaboration with the board for the future of the organization. In essence, the board grants the Dr. Carl Mack the authority to run the organization. He is accountable to the Chairman of the Board and reports to the board on a regular basis - quarterly, semiannually, or annually. The Board may offer suggestions and ideas about how to improve the organization. However, Dr. Carl Mack decides whether or not, and how, to implement these ideas. Simply put, his responsibility is great.
NSBE has several programs that require constant attention for the Executive Director. Some of the programs are:
• Academic Excellence
• Chapter Development
• Leadership and Personal Development
• NSBEpreneurTM
• Pre-College Initiative Programs
• T.O.R.C.H.
• Technical Competitions
• Technical Professional Programs
The Pre-College Initiative (PCI) Program is the National Society of Black Engineers' effort to encourage pre-college students in grades K-12 to develop interest and skills in math and science. Within this program it allows a student at the age of eight to developed their S.T.E. M Love. The Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) camp is a free three-week program targeting students in grades 3-5. This program will introduce students to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (S.T.E.M.) fields. Primarily collegiate members of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) facilitate the program. Pre-College Initiative (PCI) Programs.
The Technical professional program helps to position its technical professional (Alumni Extension) members for success through a variety of technical certification opportunities, professional development conferences, and special interest groups. These groups are focused in areas such as space exploration, information technology, and energy.
Alumni are very important in the growth of NSBE. The organization constantly wants to retain their technical professional for skills that can benefit the world innovative ways. So if you're a technical professional, look for a NSBE chapter in your area. Register to be in the loop of what’s going on with the largest organization of Black Engineers in America.
“Give so much time to improvement of yourself, that you don’t have time to criticize others,”said Dr Mack throughout the conversation. Dr. Mack adapts this quote for himself back in high school. This quote has been in his apart of him and he has held on to this quote throughout his progression to being the Executive chair for NSBE.
Dr. Mack was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He is attended Mississippi State University, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Clarkson University in 2010.
Dr. Mack has been instrumental in increasing NSBE’s financial resources to record highs: helping expand the organization’s cash reserves from $3.5 million to $9.0 million; securing a largest-ever grant of $1 million from a NSBE sponsor; helping build NSBE’s top-level sponsorship to record levels; bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars to strengthen NSBE’s IT infrastructure; pushing attendance at NSBE’s Annual Convention to nearly 10,000 attendees and working with NSBE’s National Executive Board to pay off the mortgage on NSBE’s new World Headquarters building, among other highlights.
His extraordinary leadership has led to an increase in visibility for the organization The organization has made appearances on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight and ABC’s Good Morning America. He has also received recognition in Ebony magazine as one of the Top 150 Black Leaders in America. In July 2009, Adm. Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, presented Mack with the National Naval Officers Association’s top honor for work in the field of diversity: the Capt. Charles L. Tompkins Award.
To help fill the pipeline to engineering careers with greater numbers of minorities, Mack founded NSBE’s Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) Academy in the summer of 2007. To date, he has secured approximately $3 million in funding for the program, which utilizes NSBE’s collegiate engineering members to expose African American children as early as third grade to the world of engineering. SEEK exists in Washington, D.C. and Columbus, Ohio, with plans to expand to Oakland, Calif. and Chicago, Ill.
Before joining NSBE, Mack worked as an engineer with METRO – King County in Seattle, Wash., and coordinated the county’s award-winning Minority Engineering Internship Program. He also served as president of the Seattle King County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). During his tenure, the branch won the 2004 Class 1-A Thalheimer Award as the top branch in the country. Because of his significant contributions in the arena of civil rights, Carl was listed as one of the 25 Most Influential people in the greater Seattle area. Upon his departure from the Greater Seattle area, both the City of Seattle and the King County government named Feb. 12, 2005, Carl B. Mack Day.
Mack is a Lifetime Member of NSBE and a Life Member of the NAACP. He also sits on the Minority Advisory Board of the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University, the Board of Trustees of the SAE Foundation (Society of Automotive Engineers), and the Clarkson University Board of Trustees.
Mack resides in Fort Washington, Md. with his sons, Joshua and Jonathan, and his wife, Jamiyo, a chemical engineer whom he met at NSBE’s 2000 Annual National Convention. He also has a daughter, LaShaundra Johnson, who resides in Jackson, MS.
