Brian Mara earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology with a minor in Psychology from Florida State University. He started his career with the Kern County Probation Department in 2004 as an Extra-Help Group Counselor at Camp Erwin Owen. In 2005, he was promoted to Deputy Probation Officer and worked in a variety of assignments including Adult Supervision, High-Risk Offender Unit, Post Release Community Supervision, Mandatory Supervision, Adult Programming Unit, and the Professional Standards Unit. He was promoted to Assistant Probation Division Director of the Kern Crossroads Facility in 2022.