C. Mark Riden M.A. M.Ed.
C. Mark Riden M.A. M.Ed. is an anthropologist, philosopher, teacher, coach, farmer and U.S. military veteran. His alma maters include the University of Central Oklahoma, University of Oklahoma, Rose State College and the United States Marine Corps. In 2014, Riden published The Brain Moves, a research text that evaluates athletic and military-related brain trauma. In 2022, Riden authored The Zinnia Farmer, revealing his extensive farming practices growing zinnia plants. While in graduate school, Riden served in his university senate representing Student Veterans of America where he wrote and co-sponsored legislation to support military veterans attending college. In 2005, then Senator Riden held a seat in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature.
Riden is the great grandson and great nephew of Privates Leonard M. Garrett and John W. Garrett who fought for the Continental Army from 1777-1780 under the command of General George Washington. He is also the grandson of James Riden III, a North Carolina fur trapper who served in the American Revolution at age twelve. Many of the Riden ancestors occupied as captains and privates during the American Civil War. Riden’s uncle was Silver Star Recipient Command Sergeant Major Kenneth Merritt, U.S. Army 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions who served in three theaters of combat, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Riden shares ancestry trees with George Washington’s sister, New Mexico lawman Pat Garrett, Missouri Sheriff William Herbert Collins, and Cherokee grandmother Susannah Stolen Horse. Riden’s roots in Northwest Arkansas are connected to the great pioneer, Wesley Garrett. Summarily, Riden falls into a family tree of explorers and soldiers who migrated westward following the Revolution and the War of 1812.