Mark Wiley

If someone would’ve told 19-year-old Mark Wiley that a university would one day honor him with an Alumni of the Year award, he would’ve cried … tears of laughter.

The primary prerequisite for winning such an award, after all, was earning a college degree. And at the time, a degree was hardly a slam dunk for the teenager from western New York.

“I didn’t have a clear plan after high school, so I decided to commute to nearby Buffalo State College,” Wiley recalls. “Unfortunately, I disliked every aspect of the college experience during my freshman year.”

Wiley didn’t realize it in the moment, but his opinion on university life would soon change — all thanks to a kind gesture from a generous boss who invited Wiley to join him in Las Vegas for an annual auto trade show.

“That trip changed my life,” he says. “I toured the town and UNLV’s campus, and I was immediately sold on Vegas being the land of opportunity. When I got home, I applied to UNLV, received my acceptance letter three months later, and transferred in the summer of 1998.”

Spoiler alert: Wiley had a far better experience at UNLV than Buffalo State, and he went on to earn a psychology degree.

He intended to seek a career in law enforcement, specifically with the FBI, CIA, or Secret Service. However, that plan was scrapped during an on-campus meeting with all three organizations, each of which informed Wiley that he would never be considered for employment because of his color blindness.

So Wiley turned his career aspirations to the sports sector. The reason: Within days of arriving on campus, he secured a job with the UNLV athletics department.

“I worked as the game operations manager and was exposed to the whole athletics culture and a sense of community that I loved being a part of,” Wiley says. “The only deterrent to pursuing a career in sports was that the offerings in Las Vegas were limited at the time. So I likely would’ve had to leave the area to get the job I wanted, and that wasn’t something I wanted to do.”

Fully committed to remaining in Southern Nevada, Wiley started and operated his own successful business shortly after graduating from UNLV. He then took on multiple leadership and consulting roles in the marketing and media industries. As editor-in-chief of a quarterly publication targeting the real estate industry, Wiley discovered his true calling.

He obtained his real estate license in 2014, launched The Mark Wiley Group within Keller Williams Realty, and went on to rank among the top 1 percent of all Las Vegas Valley residential agents in sales production. Today, in addition to the reputation he has built in Las Vegas, Wiley is also recognized as a top performing advisor and mentor within the Keller Williams national luxury and sports and entertainment divisions.

Through the years, Wiley has firmly planted both feet in his adopted hometown through community-focused endeavors. Among other acts of service, Wiley is chairman of the board for St. Rose Hospitals and sits on the executive board for the Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican Foundation. He also is president emeritus with Olive Crest, which provides needed services to children and families in crisis.

And, of course, Wiley has remained devoted to his alma mater. He was on the UNLV Foundation’s Annual Giving Council for four years, then spent two years on the UNLV Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, including serving as president in 2018 and 2019. Currently, Wiley is a member of the dean’s advisory board for the College of Liberal Arts.

How long did it take to realize you made the right decision to transfer to UNLV?

I knew UNLV was the right fit before I even moved into Tonopah Hall. But if I had to pinpoint one event that confirmed my decision was the right one, it would be my second day on campus when I applied for a job in the athletics department. 

The person I interviewed with grew up 15 minutes away from my hometown in Buffalo, had a degree from Buffalo State College, and made a point to tell me he would make sure I was taken care of because “that’s what people from Buffalo do for each other.”

Without that interaction, I’m not sure my story unfolds the same way over the next 25 years.

Looking back at your time on campus, what was the pivotal moment that helped set you up for future success?

My time spent working in the athletics department was by far the most impactful experience during my three years at UNLV. I am so grateful to still have so many relationships with former athletics staff and fellow student workers.

I look back fondly on the nights at UNLV sporting events sitting up in the president’s suite or the UNLV Foundation suite with big-name donors, or in the locker rooms with the coaches after big games. Without fail, no matter the occasion or who was in the group, I was always treated with respect and felt like everyone working in the athletics department was my Vegas family.

In addition to operating your own real estate firm, you work with KW Luxury and KW Sports and Entertainment. What is the mission of those divisions?

KW Luxury and KW S+E are communities of elite real estate advisors who have a proven track record of serving clients in the luxury real estate and sports and entertainment spaces. Every member of my team specializes in a different area of the real estate industry so that we can offer our clients a comprehensive advisor model to ensure all their needs are met.

This includes corporate relocations, investments, wholesaling, luxury, sports and entertainment, and property management, as well as traditional residential and commercial real estate.

In addition to operating The Mark Wiley Group, I also launched a new business in 2022 called Leverage Sell Grow. This is an operational fulfillment and consulting firm for top-performing real estate brokers and their ancillary partners in areas such as mortgage, insurance, accounting, investments, and more.

Throughout your career you have carved out time to serve your community and your alma mater through various volunteer endeavors. What spurred this desire to give back?

My passion for community service comes from a lifetime of having impactful role models in my orbit.

It started with my grandfather, who served as an elected school board president for 34 years. That alone taught me about the trials and tribulations of serving your community in a leadership capacity.

Fast-forward to my senior year of college and I’m telling my office-mate — the legendary “Voice of the Rebels” — Dick Calvert that I needed a real job after I graduated, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Dick spoke with then-UNLV athletics director Charlie Cavagnaro, and the next thing you know I’m walking into the shuttered Desert Inn Hotel (now Wynn Las Vegas) to interview with Elaine Wynn. 

That initial meeting ultimately led to a two-year crash course of what game-changing philanthropy looks like — a course taught by one of the most respected philanthropists our city will ever know. I could talk for hours about the lessons I took away from my time working for Elaine Wynn.

But if I had to summarize my ongoing passion for community service, I would say my grandfather planted the seed; my parents, friends, and past colleagues nurtured me like a good fertilizer; and Elaine Wynn was the sun that allowed my community-servant mindset to grow and thrive.