From Navy Command to Global Leadership: Mark Sohaney Joins UMGC

There are few conventional career paths that lead from commanding a major military installation in Hawaii to running a South Florida city and then overseeing an international university operation. Mark Sohaney has followed just such a path, building a career that has taken him from the highest levels of naval command to the everyday challenges of local government.

Now, after more than 37 years of military service and a relatively brief tenure as Boca Raton's city manager, the retired U.S. Navy captain is preparing for his next assignment. The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) announced October 19 that Sohaney will become its senior vice president of Global Military Operations, effective November 30, putting him in charge of an education network serving military-affiliated students at more than 170 locations across 24 countries.

For Sohaney, the move represents a return to a community that has shaped much of his professional life. For UMGC, it brings an executive whose experience extends well beyond traditional university administration, encompassing military command, strategic planning, infrastructure management and the leadership of large, complex organizations.

Leadership Forged on a Global Stage

Long before his arrival at Boca Raton City Hall, Sohaney had spent decades managing responsibilities of a very different scale.

As commanding officer and CEO of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, he oversaw an installation supporting more than 93,000 military personnel, family members and civilian employees, with facilities valued at more than $30 billion. The role combined military readiness with the considerable demands of running a sprawling organization, from infrastructure and logistics to personnel and operational coordination.

His military résumé also includes command of Naval Air Station Key West, senior planning and operational assignments with the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and leadership positions within U.S. Pacific Command. Among his notable responsibilities was directing the Navy's introduction of the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft as officer in charge of the fleet introduction team, part of a modernization program valued at approximately $25 billion.

The numbers are impressive, but they tell only part of the story. Across these assignments, Sohaney worked in environments where competing priorities, complex chains of command and decisions with long-term consequences were part of the job. His experience included multinational partnerships, contingency planning and crisis management — responsibilities that demanded not only operational expertise, but also the ability to bring different organizations and people together around a common mission.

That combination of strategic perspective and practical leadership would eventually take him into a different kind of public service.

Bringing a People-First Philosophy to Boca Raton

When Sohaney took over as Boca Raton's city manager in September 2025, he inherited an organization responsible for the daily services and long-term priorities of one of South Florida's prominent coastal communities. The job placed him at the head of eight municipal departments and nearly 1,800 employees, with oversight spanning infrastructure investments, public services and city operations.

The transition from military command to municipal management brought a different set of expectations. City government operates under public scrutiny, with elected officials, residents, employees and businesses all bringing their own priorities to the table. Sohaney's approach emphasized communication, transparency and collaboration, principles he had identified as important when he joined the city.

His leadership philosophy, “People First – Mission Always,” became a defining expression of that approach. When Boca Raton announced his resignation on October 16, the city specifically highlighted his commitment to employees and the community, as well as his work to strengthen operations and advance infrastructure priorities.

Mayor Andy Thomson offered a similarly personal assessment.

“Mark cares deeply about the people who work for this City and the community we serve,” Thomson said in the city's announcement. “He has brought a strong sense of service to his role as City Manager.”

It was a notable acknowledgment of a tenure that lasted just over a year. While Sohaney's departure leaves the City Council to determine interim leadership and the selection of a successor, his next role offers an opportunity to reconnect with the military community on an international scale.

A Familiar Mission, With a New Purpose

At UMGC, Sohaney will be joining an institution whose history has long been intertwined with the U.S. military. Founded to serve working adults and military personnel, the university has spent nearly eight decades extending educational opportunities to students whose careers and personal circumstances often make traditional campus life impractical.

Its presence at military installations around the world makes leadership of its global operations a particularly demanding assignment. The university provides in-person, hybrid, online and livestreamed learning opportunities across an international network, serving active-duty personnel, veterans and military families.

UMGC President Gregory W. Fowler described Sohaney's background as an especially strong fit for that mission, pointing to his operational leadership, strategic vision and longstanding commitment to military communities. Fowler also cited his experience managing organizations across countries and cultures, developing partnerships and delivering results in demanding environments.

For a university operating across continents, that experience matters. Supporting military students involves far more than offering courses online. It requires coordination across locations, an understanding of military life and the flexibility to serve students whose assignments, deployments and family circumstances can change with little notice.

Sohaney's familiarity with those realities comes from decades spent inside the institutions UMGC serves. In the university's announcement, he spoke about witnessing firsthand how higher education can transform lives, strengthen families and create new opportunities for service members.

That perspective is likely to be central to his new responsibilities, which will include overseeing worldwide military operations, advancing student support and serving as the university's senior leader for military and veterans affairs.

The Next Chapter

Sohaney's professional path is unusual in its breadth. Few municipal executives arrive at City Hall after commanding major naval installations, and fewer still leave local government to lead an international education operation. Yet there is a consistent thread running through the different stages of his career: managing complex institutions whose work ultimately depends on the people within them.

His academic background reflects that intersection of strategy and public service. He holds a master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College and graduated summa cum laude from San Diego State University with a bachelor's degree in economics.

The move to UMGC comes at a time when universities serving military-affiliated students face the challenge of making education accessible across borders, time zones and demanding professional schedules. Sohaney will bring an understanding of those challenges from the perspective of someone who has spent much of his career working alongside the people the university aims to reach.

For Boca Raton, his departure means another leadership transition at City Hall. For Sohaney, it marks a return to a familiar community, this time with a different mission: helping military service members and their families build opportunities beyond their years in uniform.

It is a new assignment, but one that draws on much of what has defined his career.