Jo Merchant
Office Manager
Jo Merchant, as Office Manager of the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, ensures the smooth running of the office, gallery and shop and that it is an efficient, safe and pleasant work environment for the staff.
Merchant came to the Institute after a stint at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where she was a frog keeper: feeding and caring for 72 poison dart frogs. She cleaned, monitored and maintained the water and air filtration systems for their habitat and raised their prey.
Previously, Ms. Merchant was with Morgan Stanley for 13 years. As a technical writer, she liaised between the graphic designers of the corporate documents and the computer programmers who heavily customized the Microsoft Office Suite for banker use.
Ms. Merchant has a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College in English and Mass Communications. She also earned a Certificate in Environmental Conservation from the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation at Columbia University.
