Mark Pooley (Navajo/Hopi) has been in law enforcement since 2001 and is passionate about helping his native people, both on and off the reservation. He recently retired from the Tempe Police Department in Arizona as a Sergeant in the Professional Standards Unit after being diagnosed with cancer. During his tenure as a police officer, he held several detective positions in Robbery, The Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF/FBI), and Homicide. As a supervisor, he was assigned to two ancillary positions; Crisis Negotiator Team and Incident Response Team. Prior to his Police career, Mr. Pooley was a tribal prosecutor on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community where he dealt with criminal and civil issues within the tribal court.

Mr. Pooley was the Criminal Justice Coordinator for the Native American Fatherhood and Families Association (NAFFA) where he was in the process of establishing programs to assist individuals who are incarcerated and/or preparing for reentry back into their Native community. During this time, he learned more about the murdered and missing indigenous persons (MMIP) movement and wanted to be part of the solution in finding his people. He learned about organizations with cutting edge investigative tools to assist in locating these missing individuals, and is now bringing these technologies to tribal law enforcement.

Mr. Pooley is still fighting cancer and contributes his diagnosis as a blessing. He learned that life is too short and one needs to work towards a vision that will bring safety and joy back to all humankind. He started Native Search Solutions to be a part of that vision and will start with finding our Native People and bring safety and joy back into their lives.

Mark graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Brigham Young University and a Master’s degree in Education Counseling-Human Relations from Northern Arizona University.