Paid for by NDN.
Melissa Merz
Vice President of Communications
April 24, 2008
Melissa Merz has worked in political communications for nearly 20 years, most of those years in the U.S. Congress.
After graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 1989, Merz moved to Washington, DC, where she took her first job on Capitol Hill as a receptionist for former U.S. Rep. George Crockett (D-MI). She continued to work on the House side, serving as press secretary to U.S. Reps. Jim Jontz (D-IN), Frank McCloskey (D-IN) and Dick Durbin (D-IL).
Following Rep. Durbin’s successful 1996 bid for the U.S. Senate, Merz joined Durbin in the U.S. Senate in 1997 as his Communications Director, remaining with the Illinois senator until 2002.
In 2002, Merz returned to Illinois as Communications Director for the campaign of then-State Sen. Lisa Madigan (D-Chicago), who was running for state Attorney General. Following a brutal campaign, Madigan prevailed, becoming Illinois’ first female attorney general in 2003. Merz worked for Attorney General Madigan until 2006, then returned to Washington, DC.
Upon her return, Merz joined U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s office as Communications Director and also served as Communications Director for District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer.
Merz, a native of Oklahoma, lives in Washington, DC. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s National Capital Chapter.
