Merrell is a designer and writer with an enduring belief in the power of place. Currently, she is Director of Public Engagement for the Baltimore Museum of Art, where she leads programming to collaborate with and serve the City's many audiences. She is also a board member of the Compound, an artist-owned studio and cultural space in East Baltimore. Merrell holds a BA in History from Columbia University, a dual MA in Social Design and Critical Studies from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and studied landscape architecture at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.