Ashton Merbach Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Supporting project development activities throughout the Ranger portfolio, focusing on community outreach, permitting, and land acquisition.

Salem, Massachusetts, United States

Environmental Organizer with Environment Massachusetts’ Protect Our Oceans Campaign● Managed and trained a team of six interns and 42 student volunteers in organizing skills and leadership development● Generated and delivered 3,600+ petition signatures, 750+ photo petitions, 150+ faculty, staff, and student organizations sign-ons, and 120+ local business sign-ons in support of permanent protections for Cashes Ledge to Senator Markey, Senator Warren, Representative Moulton, and Representative Lynch● Co-led and facilitated a student Lobby Day in support of the 100% Clean Act (met with 13 MA Senators/Representatives) and met with the Office of Senator Ed Markey to advocate on behalf of Cashes Ledge

Evanston, Illinois, United States

● Communicate with Chapter and Council leadership and maintain office organization in both physical and online spaces● Audit Chapter rosters and code spreadsheets to track attendance records across all 4 Greek Councils at Northwestern● Identify trends in community feedback to improve campus programming (ex. FSL Leadership Retreat, DEI workshops)

Evanston, Illinois, United States

● Led a 5-week, pre-college program geared toward facilitating community and adjustment to college for 120+ First-Generation, Low-Income students● Oversaw a team of 10 UTFs, each specializing in different academic disciplines, to coordinate weekly Office Hours, Social Events, and Informational Workshops explaining how to navigate Northwestern’s resources and academic rigor● Supervised all program events and served as Head Resident Advisor for all 60 students and 10 UTFs living in the dorm● Facilitated in-class demonstrations as an Economics TA, led daily Office Hours, and graded all course materials

Chicago, Illinois, United States

● Cultivated a tool consolidating 5 existing seed & seedling field identification guides spanning 218 species for convenientuse in fieldwork and as a basis to identify gaps in knowledge for future Garden research● Distributed this work to adjacent Garden labs for use in fieldwork and published the project in the SER Midwest GreatLakes Restoration blog● Collaborated on a PhD dissertation project looking at the functional traits of plant species in restored oak woodlands toinvestigate how plant communities assemble and change along land-use history and management gradients● Oversaw plant collections during fieldwork and independently processed the samples in the lab for data analysis

Bachelor Of Arts - Ba, Environmental Science, Psychology And Sustainability And Energy

Activities and Societies: Kappa Delta Sorority (Vice President - Learning & Development), SigO A Cappella (President & Social Media.

Student, General

Activities and Societies: Darter Chorus (Department President), Auditorium Lighting and Sound Technician, Mu Alpha Theta (Vice President).