Mark D Lerner

Mark Lerner has worked for and with his father in the family real estate business, Lerner Enterprises, for 43 years, since the younger Lerner graduated from George Washington University. When the family took over the team, Mark was the Lerner who most openly and publicly embraced the role — occasionally donning a full uniform and shagging flyballs at the team’s old spring training headquarters in Viera, Fla., or at home at RFK Stadium and, later, Nationals Park. Ted and Annette Lerner’s three children have started involving their own kids with the Nationals. Mark’s sons Jonathan, 33, and Jacob, 30, are involved in the family business, as are Debra and Ed Cohen’s children, Michael and Jaclyn. The transfer of control of the Nationals comes at the conclusion of an emotional and difficult year for Mark Lerner. In January 2017, Lerner was diagnosed with a rare cancer in his left leg. Though radiation rid him of the cancer, complications caused doctors to recommend amputating the leg above the knee. Lerner had that surgery and was fitted with a prosthetic, which he has been using for as many as eight to 12 hours per day.