Mark Meiners

Mark Meiners joined the Refugees International board in 2024. He is a wellness professional engaged in philanthropy and activism. Born and raised in the Midwest, he is a longtime resident of New York, where he moved to study at New York University, graduating with a B.A in art history in 1999. During a period of exploration that ranged from French culinary training to real estate development, Mr. Meiners found his career in the wellness industry, as a yoga instructor and massage therapist. He is currently in private practice. 

With a lifelong passion for the performing and visual arts, Mr. Meiners is interested in finding ways to make the arts more accessible to all, and especially in seeking opportunities to engage young people in creative endeavors early and often. To this end, he supports organizations like the Bronx River Art Center and the Brooklyn Children’s Theater. 

Mr. Meiners supports the movement to reimagine criminal justice in the United States through the work of Civil Rights Corps and the Bail Project, and is involved in advocacy to eliminate barriers to police and prosecutorial accountability and move away from cash bail and pretrial detention for nonviolent offenses. He has also joined efforts to address racial inequity, food insecurity, and the reinvigorated movements to curtail reproductive rights and the rights of LGBTQ people. In 2021 and 20222, Mr. Meiners contributed to the creation of Trans Asylias, a non-profit organization providing material assistance and legal support to trans and gender non-conforming people living in immediate danger in their home countries, to seek asylum in and relocate to countries where they can live in greater safety. He has been a supporter of Refugees International since 2015.