Mark Wallace

Mark Wallace serves as the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Protection Services and the host and chair for the National Conference on Cultural Property Protection. He is a strategic leader in risk management and mission effectiveness and has over 24 years of law enforcement and museum security experience.  

Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Wallace was the chief of the Office of Protection Services for the National Gallery of Art (NGA), where he managed a diverse workforce of more than 300 personnel. While at NGA, Wallace prioritized technology upgrades to maintain a high level of security and enhance incident-reaction time while accurately counting the number of people that entered and exited the building, and provided discrete and accurate surveillance and behavior analytics.  

In addition, Wallace worked as director for the Integrated Emergency Operations Center for the Department of Defense from 2009 to 2013, where he was responsible for the safety and security of the Pentagon Reservation. Prior to that, he was acting director for the Department of the Interior’s Information Sharing and Analysis Division. There, he worked as a watch commander, interim director of the Victim Assistance Program, intelligence coordinator, and acting assistant director. Wallace also served the Department of Justice from 1994 to 2004 in several roles, including law enforcement coordinator and anti-terrorism officer in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He serves on the board of the National Conference on Cultural Property Protection.  

Wallace holds a master’s degree in national security strategy from National War College and a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from the University of the District of Columbia.