Mark Lawrence Cruz is spearheading the New Initiatives Department of Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation. He is also a faculty member of the Department of Philosophy and the School of Government of the Ateneo de Manila University where he earned his degrees in Management and Philosophy.
He is currently doing his PhD studies in Public Administration at the University of the Philippines. His work and studies are focused on scaling up and sustaining working templates to ending poverty. He resides in Quezon City with his wife, Coco, and their two daughters, Sining and Diwa.