Profile

Jessica Merkner earned her B.A. in political science from the University of Washington and her J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College. She has over 14 years of experience in higher education administration, including fundraising, alumni relations, and admissions. After completing law school, her professional career began as a fundraiser specializing in private foundation grants and membership acquisition for a nonprofit environmental law firm with offices across the western U.S. After seven years serving as a director in the law school’s admissions office, she returned to fundraising, with alumni outreach, advisory board management, communications, event planning, and supervisory responsibilities. She serves on Oregon Law Dean Marcilynn Burke's leadership team. Jessica is a member of the Washington State Bar Association and the Lane County Bar Association of Oregon.