University of Massachusetts Global (UMass Global, formerly Brandman University)
Doctoral Candidate for Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership
University of South Carolina
International M.B.A., with Marketing Internship at Johnson & Johnson in São Paulo, Brazil
Pontifícia Universidade Católica
Rotary Graduate Scholarship in Economics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Georgetown University (School of Languages & Linguistics)
Bachelor of Science in Language Arts, Spanish Major, Business Minor, Washington, D.C.
Merrill’s passion is driving transformative solutions to enable others to be able to be more successful in changing environments. During his career, he has been recognized for identifying strategic growth drivers then building strategic marketing, business, and education programs to accelerate awareness, adoption and learning.
In addition to growing businesses, Merrill has focused on capturing attention and delivering information that ’sticks’ in the audiences' memories throughout his career in the medical device and consumer spaces for Start-up companies to Fortune 100 organizations. While on the Board of Directors for the Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network (LTEN), Merrill began a conference workshop series on the 'Magic and Neuroscience of Learning’, for groups of 200+ attendees. While in the medical technology space, Merrill has provided countless training courses for attention-strapped sales representatives, employees and health care professionals around the world. He knows how to design curricula, trainings, as well as short, direct presentations for education as well as key business meetings by focusing on neuroscience-based techniques for designing and delivering presentations with clarity designed to resonate in the audiences’ working memories.
Merrill instructs marketing classes at the SRJC, and serves on Academic Senate Committees for Faculty Equivalency, and Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) Workgroup dedicated to SRJC accreditation.
His son graduated from the SRJC College To Career (C2C) program and the SRJC Career Education program with a Business Marketing Certificate, and Merrill's daughter is an undergraduate at UCLA majoring in Sociology and pursuing a double minor in Musicology and Music Industry.
Merrill provides consulting for fundraising efforts, positioning and messaging architecture, clinical marketing, accelerating site enrollment for clinical trials for new technologies, digital marketing, and training and education to early-stage structural heart and heart failure medical device start-up companies.
He brings experience in Marketing, Commercial and Training & Education roles, while working cross-functionally (with Finance, Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, Regulatory, and Quality departments) in consumer and medical device companies, ranging in size from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies.
Sleights-Of-Learning: Neuroscience, Attention and Memory, FOCUS Magazine, Feature Story, Summer 2014
- To understand the "magic" of learning, we must first grasp the neuroscience of attention, collaborative learning and memory reinforcement.
Understand Encoding to Boost Memory, FOCUS Magazine, Bonus FOCUS, Summer 2014
- An overview of memory encoding, and solutions how to increase retention.
Measuring Sales Training Effectiveness Using Clinical Trial Approach, FOCUS Magazine, Cover Story, Fall 2013
- Should we measure ROI or sales performance? Using a clinical trial approach (new method vs. standard) to measure sales performance offers a new way to look at training results.
Neuroscience of Complexity, FOCUS Magazine, Winter 2016
- Our world and work environments are more complex than ever. So, how do we successfully navigate intricate decisions?
Neuroscience of Collaboration, FOCUS Magazine, Fall 2016
- Relatedness results in trust, the engine that drives productive collaboration.
Neuroscience of User Experience, FOCUS Magazine, Summer 2016
- At the core of all experiences, success is measured by the quality of interaction. Engaging training creates engaged and proficient professionals.
Neuroscience of Mimetics and Learning, FOCUS Magazine, Spring 2016
- What is a meme? This column explains the neuroscience behind mimetic and its importance to learning and corporate training.
Neuroscience of Messaging, FOCUS Magazine, Winter 2015
- Understanding the science behind effective messaging has powerful impact on how people act and react.
Neuroscience of Mindfulness, FOCUS Magazine, Fall 2015
- Mindfulness, at its very core, is 'wise attention,' which can impact workplace performance and leadership effectiveness.
Memory Garden, FOCUS Magazine, Summer 2015
- Much has been written on the neuroscience-based evidence behind memory. This column explores how research results can be related to effective training.
Neurochecklist, FOCUS Magazine, Spring 2015
- Relentlessly delivering learning with the mind ‘in mind’ can increase the value of training. Merrill offers a checklist for success.
Understanding the Why, FOCUS Magazine, Winter 2014
- In this column, Merrill Collier talks about the importance of understanding the 'why', and that actions without concepts are blind.
Learning, Disrupted, FOCUS Magazine, Fall 2014
- Only by disrupting the traditional ways in which we think about learning in the corporate training sphere can we move forward.
Neuroliteracy, FOCUS Magazine, Summer 2014
- In his second column installment, Merrill talks about how to develop literacy with neuroscience principles, and what to look out for.
Neuroscience of Learning, FOCUS Magazine, Spring 2014
- In his new column, Merrill Collier poses the question "Could neuroscience be the education game-changer?"
Boston Scientific Marketing Excellence for Marketing, Training & Education Campaigns, January 2019
Digital Marketing Conference Speaker Launching a Direct-To-Patient Campaign in 6 Months, April 2018
Life Sciences Trainers & Educators Network (LTEN) Excellence Award, June 2016
LTEN Board of Directors and Marketing Committee Chair, 2013-2015
Medtronic Star of Excellence for Drug-Eluting Stent Marketing Launch, September 2006
Member of Academy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle, Los Angeles, CA