Carl Bernard Mack was born in Jackson, Miss., and is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering.  After moving to the Seattle area in 1987, Mack worked as an engineer with METRO – King County for 18 years and coordinated the county’s award-winning Minority Engineering Internship Program. In addition, he served as president of the Seattle Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 2003 to 2004.

During his first year as chief servant, the Seattle King County branch was recognized for its outstanding efforts with the 2004 Class 1-A Thalheimer Award – First Place, out of 1,800 branches in the NAACP. When presenting the Thalheimer Award to President Mack at the 91st anniversary celebration of the branch, Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP's National Board, stated that the Seattle King County Branch of the NAACP was “the best in the world.”

Mack also revitalized the branch’s Youth Chapter, which was recognized as one of the top three in the nation that year. His service led to an increase from 600 members to more than 2,000, as well as an increase in annual revenues from approximately $35,000 to more than $180,000. Although his time at the NAACP was brief, many longtime residents of the Greater Seattle area considered Mack “one of the most effective presidents in the 92-year history of the branch.”

A noted historian, author and speaker, Mack has been featured on television, on the radio and in newspapers around the country. He is also a playwright whose work won First Place for the Seattle Jack and Jill chapter at the organization's regional conference two of the three years he was involved. His dynamic and passionate lectures on Martin Luther King Jr. and Black history engage audiences of every age, gender, race and ethnicity. Mack has received numerous awards for his involvement in the community and his humanitarian efforts.

On March 1, 2005, he began a new chapter of his life as the fourth executive director of the largest student-managed organization in the world, the National Society of Black Engineers.

As executive director of NSBE, Mack is charged with growing the membership by more than 60 percent in his first year. Excited about this new challenge, he realizes that to be successful, NSBE must reverse the deterioration in achievement of African-American children in public education. It is that passion that fuels Mack’s efforts to truly leave no child behind. Mack resides in Fort Washington, Md., with his wife, Jamiyo, and son, Joshua.