Mark Zelinger was a long-serving member of the AFCEA DC Board, & a lion for STEM Education. He forged our partnership with McKinley Tech High School, & continued to champion exceptional students until just days before his passing.  Mark showed us how to live a life of passion & grace, even well before his courageous 3 year battle with colorectal & stomach cancers.  Our Mil-Gov IT Community has lost a tremendous advocate, mentor, father, husband, and patriot… but more poignantly we have lost a dear friend! 

Mark Zelinger, aged 60, died June 7, 2012, surrounded by his loving family in the comfort of his home. He showed enormous strength and courage during a three year battle with colorectal and stomach cancer. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Melissa Elam Zelinger, and his daughters Megan Winthrop and Allison Zelinger. He also leaves behind a beloved brother Mitchel Zelinger, mother Joyce Zelinger, son-in-law John Winthrop, grandson Benson Winthrop, and his best dog friend Buckley. As the patriarch of a large and close family, he will be missed by many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews. 

A New York native, Mark graduated with from State University of New York Albany and held a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from George Washington University. He began his career in drug and rehabilitation counseling in D.C. as an intake worker at Second Genesis in the 1970s. He taught at Northern Virginia Community College, co-authored a text book, and was an expert witness for the DC Courts system. Mark carried the skills acquired during this time into his professional sales career and guided many friends and business associates by serving as a mentor, professional coach, and headhunter.

With nearly 30 years of sales and marketing experience in the federal IT arena, Mark Zelinger earned the reputation as a leader in forging commercial IT and government market connections. He founded a sales and business development company, ZAI Solutions, in 2002. Prior to establishing his own business, Mark served in numerous executive and managerial roles for leading IT technology firms. He was Vice President of Partner Relations and Product Marketing for GTSI Corp. Before GTSI, he served as Vice President of Sales for Atlantic Duncans International. His managerial experience includes sales and marketing positions with BTG, Sears Federal Systems, FCP Technologies, Businessland, and Exxon Office Systems. 

Mark was active in many industry organizations, serving on the Board of Directors of the DC Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA). He was particularly passionate about raising funds for the AFCEA DC scholarships and was instrumental in fostering a relationship with the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program at McKinley Technology High School in Washington, D.C. Those wishing to recognize Mark's memory may do so by donating funds that will go to support this program. Online donations can be made at www.afceadc.org/stem or by check to "AFCEA DC Education Foundation", 1220 L St. N.W. Suite 100-407, Washington, D.C. 20005-4018.