Mark Warren graduated Phi Beta Kappa in chemistry from the University of Georgia and pursued a career in music while working as a naturalist and educator for the Georgia Conservancy. The National Wildlife Federation named him Georgia's Conservation Educator of the Year. His articles on nature and survival skills have appeared in the North Georgia Journal, Georgia Backroads, and Blue Ridge Highlander. A U.S. national champion in whitewater canoeing and a winner of the World Championship Longbow Tournament, Warren founded and runs the Medicine Bow Wilderness School in the North Georgia mountains, where he lives.