Nicole Merhill: Director, Office for Gender Equity, Harvard University

Nicole Merhill is the Director of the Office for Gender Equity (OGE) at Harvard University and serves as the University’s Title IX Coordinator. Nicole has more than 15 years of civil rights experience in various protected class statuses, including sex, race, color, national origin, disability, and age. Nicole is a licensed attorney and holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and English from Purdue University (1998), and a J.D. and a Master in Education Law from University of New Hampshire School of Law (2001).

In July 2016, Nicole was diagnosed with breast cancer, a diagnosis she was very familiar with, as her mother was similarly diagnosed with breast cancer in her early 40s. After receiving treatment from Massachusetts General Hospital throughout 2016 and into 2017, Nicole quickly identified opportunities to support others going through similar diagnosis, including serving as a Face-to-Face Coordinator for the Young Survival Coalition (YSC). In 2018, Nicole committed to ride her first Pan Mass Challenge. She is now a fifth year living proof rider, having raised over forty-five thousand dollars for Dana Farber Cancer Center. In 2021, Nicole walked her first runway and since then she was hooked!