Candidate: Dale Marie Merrill

     Dale Marie Merrill understands the concerns of parents who want the best education possible for our next generation, because of the experiences she had as a single parent, who adopted a school-age child with special needs.  Dale recalls the frustration she felt the first time she was in an IEP meeting for her daughter, who is intelligent despite her special needs, and a school psychologist haughtily asked, “So what makes you think you know more about your child than all of us professionals?”   Dale understands the struggles of parents, because she recalls how hard it was to stay calm, breath deeply, and take constructive steps to collaborate with the educators to develop an educational plan that would allow her daughter to thrive.

     Dale also understands that people work for our school district because they want to help children, and education is more than a career to some, but rather a calling. Yet, fulfilling this purpose in life for our educators has become as exhausting as it is exciting.   In her early career Dale was an educator, working as a classroom aide with special needs students, as a substitute, and as an English teacher.  Later, she taught America Studies courses at the University of Massachusetts.

     Dale’s second career was in the software industry.  For over 20 years she was a sales executive providing software and consulting services to Fortune 500 companies.   Her responsibilities included traveling to develop business opportunities, and managing offices and distributorships throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe.   

     When Dale decided to adopt as a single parent, she was unable to continue traveling so extensively for work.   Therefore, she restructured her life and went to law school to develop a career in which she did not need to travel so extensively.   As a single parent, who worked full time while attending law school, Dale gained first-hand experience in the struggles that so many parents face today. 

     As a result of adopting her daughter, Dale became familiar with the educational issues of children who had special needs.  She began to fight to help children, who had special needs, obtain the services they needed to become productive members of society.   Dale provided numerous pro bono hours to helping parents and schools work cooperatively to produce educational plans that would help these vulnerable children live up to their potential.   

     As a Harvard-trained negotiator, she was able to bring the parties together to work on solutions that were in the best interest of children.  She also volunteered at the Gifford School in Weston, MA,  that specializes in children, who benefit from behavior management techniques, because they have disabilities despite being intelligent.  During this time, Dale became immersed in the educational issues faced by children with such disabilities as autism, Asperger’s, Tourette’s Syndrome, ADHD, PTSD,  bipolar, oppositional defiant disorder and more.

     Dale’s daughter, Julia, is now a grown woman; attended Central Florida College; obtained a CNA license; is happily married; and doing well.

     Today, Dale  is a local lawyer, who defends the Constitution in federal courts all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and in state courts in Florida and Massachusetts.  She has practiced law since 1998.  She has served on the Education Law Committee of the Florida Bar Association.   She also volunteers as a Teen Court judge to help youngsters in Citrus County get back on the right path.

      Dale’s education includes:   B.A. in English from U. Mass. at Lowell; M.A. in American Studies (thru the English Dept.) Boston College;  C.S.S. in Management from Harvard;  M.B.A. in Strategy and Operations, and Marketing from Boston College;  and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.  In addition, she took courses towards an M.Ed. in Secondary Education, and courses in Computer Science at U. Mass, Boston.

     Dale gives of her time and talents in many volunteer activities to make our community a better place for everyone.   Some of her past and present volunteerism includes:   Teen Court, judge; Kings Bay Rotary; Doctors’ Free Clinic, treasurer and board of directors;  Citrus County Charitable Foundation; The Centers, Inc., board of directors, vice president and president;  One Rake at a Time, board of directors;  NAMI, board of directors; Aquarium Project; New Beginnings into Recovery, board of directors; The Lighthouse, board of directors; Substance Abuse Prevention Council, president;  RCVT, president; U Mass at Lowell, Alumni Association, president, vice president, secretary, board member;  St. Scholastica Church, usher, reader of the gospel, eucharistic minister, finance council, and team member for Courageously Living the Gospel.

     Memberships:   Chamber of Commerce; Daughters of American Revolution; NACDL;  FACDL; MACDL;  Citrus-Hernando Inn of Court; Citrus County Bar Association;  Elks Club.