Rachel Merker Director

Rachel received her Bachelor's degree in Public Policy from Duke university in 2012. After spending two years working with Agape Sverige in Sweden, she earned her Master's in Public Policy at Georgetown University, focusing her coursework on domestic child poverty and food insecurity. During her time at graduate school she worked as a micro-economics teach assistant and interned with Share Our Strength No Kid Hungry and Prosperity Now. She also worked with a team of students to perform a year-long program evaluation for a local after-school program, DC SCORES. She is passionate about using evidence driven policy to improve the lives of vulnerable children and will be working on the Children’s Budget Coalition, and family tax policy, and nutrition at First Focus.
Our Topline Priorities on Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Rachel Merker | July 10, 2019 |
Federal child nutrition programs are critically important supports that provide poor and low-income children with nutritious food so that they can learn, grow, and …
How Kids Fare in the Senate “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”
Rachel Merker | November 27, 2017 |
The Senate to Vote on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act The Senate is poised to vote on its version of the Tax Cuts …
15 Ways the Tax Bill Harms Children and Families
Bruce Lesley, Rachel Merker | November 7, 2017 |
Recently, the House of Representatives passed its tax bill to dramatically overhaul the existing tax code with a 227 to 205 vote. The bill’s …