Leading the State Civil Rights Commission

Mark Bernstein, Chair of the Civil Rights Commission

Michigan Department of Civil Rights Website

Mark Bernstein was appointed to the Commission in January 2004 by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm.

Mark Bernstein is a product of the Michigan public education system having attended public schools from kindergarten through graduate school.  Bernstein attended the University of Michigan receiving a B.A. in 1993 and completing the J.D./M.B.A. joint-degree program in 1996.

While attending law school, he served as associate editor of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review.  Mark is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, American Bar Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association, where he serves on the Executive Board.

Bernstein is a recipient of the University of Michigan Center for Disability Concerns Certificate of Appreciation Award.  He serves as the chairperson of the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation and on the Advisory Board of Jewish Family Services, both in Washtenaw County.  Bernstein was recently selected to serve in the Steinberg Young Leadership Program of the Anti-Defamation League.

Bernstein served as director of press pool operations in the White House during the Clinton administration.  At the White House, Mark helped facilitate media coverage of the Administration's involvement in civil rights related programs focusing on bridging the digital divide, expanding opportunities in finance and banking, and celebrating the legacy of the civil rights movement.

Following his government service, he joined Citigroup Global Markets, a leading Wall Street investment bank, as an associate in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group.  Mark currently works as an attorney representing the rights of accident victims at The Law Offices of Sam Bernstein.

About the Michigan Civil Rights Commission:
The Michigan Civil Rights Commission was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963 to carry out the guarantees against discrimination articulated in Article I, Section 2.  As further stated in Article V, Section 29, the state constitution directs the Commission to investigate alleged discrimination against any person because of religion, race, color, or national origin and to "secure the equal protection of such civil rights without such discrimination.”  Public Acts 453 and 220 of 1976 and subsequent amendments have added sex, age, marital status, height, weight, arrest record, and physical and mental disabilities to the original four protected categories.

Reprinted from the Michigan Civil Rights Commission website.
Copyright 2001-2005 State of Michigan.