Nell Merlino
President and CEO, Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence
Founder and President, Strategy Communication Action Ltd.

Since 1988, Nell Merlino has been motivating millions of people to take action. She is the creative force behind Take Our Daughters to Work Day, which she designed and produced for the Ms. Foundation for Women in 1993. In ten years over 71 million Americans have participated in the day.

With her powerful vision Nell knows how to merge the marketing and branding needs of companies with the hopes and aspirations of not-for-profit organizations. She brings together leading organizations to create campaigns that motivate employees and the public to expand opportunities and make better communities.

Ms. Merlino is co-founder, President and CEO of Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence, a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 organization, dedicated to helping women in need with micro business loans. The first organization of its kind to make micro-business loans available online, Count Me In is breaking new ground using a women friendly credit scoring system. To date, Count Me In has made 250 loans to women in 43 states. The organization is supported by companies like American Express, Verizon, MetLife and Morgan Stanley along with family foundations and thousands of individuals.

Count Me In is the first women's micro lending organization to issue securities, Invest in Women Notes, with a value of $2,000 or greater for 1,3, or 5 years. The program is modeled on the highly successful Community Investment Note pioneered by Calvert Foundation. Ms. Merlino recently secured the first $ 1 million investment from The Listwin Foundation.

Ms. Merlino has extensive experience, as founder and President of Strategy Communication Action Ltd., in the development and production of highly effective national and international efforts including, NGO Forum on Women in Beijing '95, Amnesty International USA Media Spotlight Awards, the YWCA Week Without Violence, Earth Day 1990 and NetAid World Schoolhouse. In 2001, Nell helped create the NetAid World Schoolhouse, which has already made education a reality for more than 50,000 of the world's poorest children.

Nell received the Forbes magazine Trailblazer Award in 2000, the Woman of the Year Award from New Woman magazine in 1993 and the Fulbright Award for Outstanding Leadership in 1994. Prior to founding Strategy Communication Action, Ltd. and Count Me In Nell worked in two state governments, was an advance woman in presidential politics, a union organizer and a Fulbright Scholar. Nell lives in New York City with her husband, Gary Conger.