Merita Irby
Partner, Knowledge to Power
Merita is a nationally recognized master facilitator who supports catalytic leaders in taking a youth-centered, big picture approach to planning and action. Working at the national, state, and local level, I focus on creating and supporting collaborative tables for cross-systems planning and action.
Merita works with leaders in school districts, governmental departments, community collaboratives, and non-governmental organizations nationwide, helping them tackle real-world complexities by developing lenses and decision-making frameworks that are “whole child / whole community” – youth-centered, science-informed, and equity-focused. Merita has been instrumental in their work to build cross-sector collaboratives that engage young people and communities in action-oriented, asset-based solutions.
Merita began her career as a classroom teacher in Central America and in urban schools in the United States. Exploring the intersection of school, family and community supports, I worked at Stanford University on a five-year study of community-based urban youth organizations, and co-authored Urban Sanctuaries: Neighborhood Organizations in the Lives and Futures of Inner-City Youth. /span>