Mark Angelo hails from Vancouver, Canada and is an internationally-celebrated river conservationist, honorary doctorate, author, speaker, teacher, photographer and paddler. He is a United Nations award recipient as well as a recipient of both the Order of BC and Order of Canada, his country’s highest honor in recognition of his river conservation efforts both nationally and globally. Mark is the founder and chair of both BC Rivers Day and World Rivers Day, an event now embraced by millions of people in more than 100 countries. As an avid kayaker, canoeist and rafter, Mark has traveled on close to a thousand rivers spanning well over one-hundred countries; perhaps more than any other individual.
Throughout his life, Mark has worked with numerous local and international organizations spanning governments, academia, corporations, non-government organizations, and non-profits. He has been a trusted thought partner & advisor to organizations including the United Nations, Simon Fraser University, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, the Canadian government, TEDx, WaterCan, international river organizations and corporations such as lululemon and Mountain Equipment Co-op. He has also received several Honorary Doctorates from institutions such as Simon Fraser University, Trent University, and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
From 2013 to 2016, Mark led an unprecedented three year around the world journey by river as the lead subject and star of the award winning film, RiverBlue. Following the film’s release, Mark also starred in a 2018 Emmy award winning ABC news segment with renowned journalist Kimberly Hunt along the Tijuana River, shedding light on some of the same issues highlighted in the film. Mark was next the subject of the feature-length documentary, Last Paddle; 1,000 Rivers, 1 Life and will soon be featured in the documentary, The Rewilders, in which he is also the Executive Producer.
In the Fall of 2021, Mark authored the acclaimed children’s book “The Little Creek that Could: the story of a stream that came back to life”, followed by the 2025 release of the book, “River Magic: Tales for a Life on 1000 Rivers”, a collection of short stories lauded for its conservation underpinnings and its success in bringing the allure of rivers to a new and broader audience.
Among his many achievements, Mark is a family-man first; the father of two accomplished young women (Kelly and Lindsay), a grandpa of two grandchildren and husband of what he refers to as his “rock”, Kathie Angelo.
