Mark Cerney

Who is Mark Cerney?

Mark V. Cerney is the founder of an American nonprofit organization. He is best known for creating the Next of Kin Registry model.

His background includes graduating the St. John's Military School and serving with the US Marine Corps 1986-1993. He is married and has three children. The Next of Kin Registry became internationally known after appearing on CNN and Larry King after Hurricane Katrina. NOKR is an international free resource for the public to register emergency contact information that is only accessible to emergency agencies during times of urgent need. The organization was founded in 2004 and has been a resource used during Hurricane Katrina, 7 July 2005 London bombings, Asian Tsunami, 2012 Aurora Shooting, Hurricane Sandy and other disasters to include daily emergencies. The NOKR organization has volunteers in 47 US states and 87 countries. NOKR is the central depository for emergency contact information in the United States. The NOKR resource is used by more than 200 million registrants.

In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, Senator Barack Obama introduced the National Next of Kin Registry to the 109th United States Congress in S.1630, The National Emergency Family Locator Act. The Next of Kin Registry was referenced in this bill as a standard for the Secretary of Homeland Security to consider in establishing the National Emergency Family Locator System.