Professional Experience: Merilee taps into her rich quantitative analytical experience and love for storytelling in all her work at Kinetic West. She was the lead analyst for the Washington Roundtables Skill Up Report and has supported a number of workforce studies for the Washington State Department of Commerce. Prior to joining the team, Merilee worked at the National Alzheimer's Coordinator Center, facilitating collaborative research across the National Institute on Aging's Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers. Merilee has also worked at Harvard Medical School, Columbia University, and The Rockefeller University, supporting projects promoting health equity and striving to improve health and quality of life among the veteran population and those who are differently-abled or neurodiverse. They received their Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington's Evans School, their Master of Public Health from Columbia University's Mailman School, and their Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience from Barnard College.

Why I do this work: I am a self-proclaimed data nerd and am happiest when I'm deep in spreadsheets and analyzing data. Some people like data because numbers can be seen as black and white, but I like data because of what is beyond the numbers – the people whose stories are told and not told through the data and the impact that can be made when data amplifies these voices. People and relationships are at the core of this work, particularly communities who are systemically marginalized and excluded – many communities that I identify with as a first-generation immigrant, queer, gender non-binary, person of color. I continuously aspire to approach my work with kindness, humility, and compassion, and to center equity for the advancement of the most vulnerable. Ida B. Wells said, "The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them" and this quote crystallizes what drives me in this work. To make change, data helps us establish what is so that we can imagine and create what could be.

Where you’ll find me when I’m not consulting: A rare breed in the Pacific Northwest, you will not find me camping or backpacking. Having grown up in New York City, I am a city person through and through. You will find me spending time with my wife, Jenn, and our rescue pups, Milo and Cali. If I'm not cuddled up with my family, I enjoy spending my free time doing something creative or beachcombing/rockhounding. I'm a big fan of the WNBA. Go Storm!