Nandini "Dini"
Merz earned a degree in international relations from Cornell University and then a J.D.
from the George Washington University National Law Center in 1993.
After completing her formal schooling, Merz became an environmental-policy consultant for Public Sector Consultants, where she worked on issues related to
“sprawl and
contamination remediation.” Next, she served as program director for the Tremaine Foundation, where she focused her
energies on grant-making programs in the areas of learning disabilities, arts, and
the environment.
In 2003 Merz
served as a board
member of the New England Grassroots Environment
Fund, a grant-making program which seeks
“to
energize and nurture long-term civic engagement in local initiatives
that create and maintain healthy, just, safe and environmentally
sustainable communities” in the
New England area.
In March of that same year, Merz joined the Proteus
Fund,
where she currently serves as director
of Peace & Security Programs. Merz works closely with Proteus Fund founder and president Margaret Gage.
In addition to her work with the Proteus Fund, Merz also “guides
the work” of the Colombe
Foundation, a family philanthropy that “focuses on creating a more peaceful world through
changes in U.S. policy.” Moreover, Merz sits
on the steering committee of the Peace and Security Funders
Group along with Cora Weiss, among others.