Team Member Bio: Alice Mark

My name is Alice Mark. I was born in Hong Kong when it was still a British Colony. My family immigrated to the United States in late 1968 when I was nine years old. At the time, my mother was afraid Communist China was going to take over Hong Kong. We were part of the first wave of people leaving Hong Kong. Hong Kong is currently a hot item in the news and they actually talk about this first migration. The second was in 1997 when Great Britain had to give Hong Kong back to China. 

Currently, there is a third wave happening.

I was raised in New York City and started my nursing career at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Pediatric Oncology. It was a great place to work, but also very sad, especially back in the early 1980s. So I went to a happy place, the newborn nursery. They were cute, but I needed a little more action and finally settled in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for the remainder of my career. I spent the last 14 years of my career as a nurse manager and retired five years ago from a 24/7 job at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

 
My son and I were both patients of Dr. Lehnert. I remember the photos from IEP trips hanging in his
Welch Road office. I learned about his IEP mission and was so impressed and inspired by his big heart! His entire family—Jenni, Logan, and Lexington—go on the mission trips. It's amazing how this family and the IEP team give back and extend their love to the patients! 

Time went by with a busy life raising a family and managing the Special Care Unit at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Finally, I have time now. I volunteer for an organization in South San Francisco once a week but I wanted to do more. I mentioned to Dr. Lehnert that if he ever needed another nurse that I would love to join this amazing group. 

I got really lucky! Dr. Lehnert contacted me about this mission and I was elated with joy! I am just so lucky to have the privilege to join this mission. I can't wait to meet everyone on the team and get to work! Thank you to Dr. Lehnert, Jenni, and IEP team for giving me this opportunity!

Vietnam 2020