Merrily’s career, and philanthropic work, have focused on education. She has served as Chief Operating Officer of IvyWise LLC, an educational consulting firm that works with students around the globe on admissions counseling and tutoring for the past ten years.  Prior to that, she served in senior management at The Princeton Review.  Merrily also serves on the Board for School the World, an international nonprofit solving extreme poverty through the power of education.  

 

She holds a BS from Georgetown University and an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business.  Her most relevant education however comes from parenting two children with autism and learning disabilities to adulthood.  Merrily has been and continues to be deeply involved with special education in Westport for over 15 years, serving on the SpED PTA committee throughout , and on PTA Council as chair of that committee for 4 of those years.  Most recently she worked very closely with Westport Schools on building and launching it’s fist transition program, Connections, serving students 18-22 with job coaching, community access and life skills.  Merrily lives a stone’s throw from Old Mill Grocery and her family has even deeper roots in Westport, her maternal grandparents living here since the 20’s.