New Hampshire’s First Black Sheriff to Speak with Souhegan Students
Sheriff Mark Brave was elected on November 3, 2020 as both the youngest and also the first black High Sheriff in New Hampshire’s history. Currently, Sheriff Brave resides in Dover, where he and his wife Jaime are raising their three children. Protecting and serving the public has been Sheriff Brave’s lifelong professional endeavor, and he embraces this role proudly. During his career in law enforcement, Sheriff Brave has served in city municipalities and state agencies, in addition to working as Chief of Campus Safety for Great Bay Community College, which encompasses both the Portsmouth and Rochester, NH campuses. Since Sheriff Brave’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office, he has held numerous roles including as Sergeant overseeing the Civil Process Unit and Transports. Sheriff Brave also oversaw the Standards and Training Unit, which includes responsibility over the Sheriff’s Office certification standards via the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Accreditation Program. Sheriff Brave recently completed his graduate degree in Forensic Psychology, which has cemented his passion for continuing his professional development.
Along with his work in the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Brave currently serves his community through various volunteer focuses. Specifically, his volunteer fundraising efforts for the New Hampshire Special Olympics, combined with coaching in a local recreational basketball league for teens have been a few highlights. Additionally, Sheriff Brave serves on a handful of boards including: the Board of Directors for the Seacoast Educational Endowment for Dover (SEED), which has been a particular point of pride due to the biannual grant funding awarded to the local public schools that fund unique areas of need in the schools’ curriculum; The Dover Adult Learning Center (DALC); Committee for Racial Equity and Inclusion.