Marcus Mills, Ed.D.

spent more than a decade as a Color Guard Director in the Bay Area, where his programs earned numerous first-place, sweepstakes, and championship awards. An adjudicator since 2004, Dr. Mills has judged parade, field, winter guard, and winter percussion competitions and is a WGI Certify Level 300 Circuit Judge. He currently adjudicates for NCBA, CCGC, NNIA (Nevada), and RMCGA (Colorado) and frequently serves as a music, visual, and color guard clinician throughout Northern and Central California.

Dr. Mills has served on NCBA’s Color Guard Committee since 2010, as Color Guard Caption Manager since 2013, and on the Board of Directors as Vice President of Winter Activities since 2015. In this role, he has shaped the circuit’s strategic vision and growth, successfully leading NCBA’s transition to becoming a WGI Circuit Partner and aligning the circuit with WGI judging standards. His contributions to NCBA have been recognized with the Distinguished Service Award in 2017 and the Elsie Nielson Service Award in 2024.

Professionally, Dr. Mills works for the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), the nation’s leading reentry workforce development nonprofit, which helps people returning from incarceration find employment and successfully transition back into their communities. Previously, he served as an Education Coordinator at one of California’s largest state prisons, overseeing educational services for more than 550 incarcerated students, and as a high school English teacher. He holds a B.A. in Music, an M.Ed. in Cross-Cultural Teaching, and an Ed.D. in Leadership.

Areas of Adjudication:

Field Visual - Individual
Field Visual - Ensemble
Field GE
Parade Marching
Parade Showmanship
Parade Color Guard - Individual
Parade Color Guard - Ensemble
Field Color Guard - Individual
Field Color Guard - Ensemble
Winter Guard - Movement
Winter Guard - Equipment
Winter Guard - General Effect
Winter Guard - Design Analysis
Winter Percussion - Effect Visual
Timing & Penalties - Winter

Fall Season