A Dream Fifteen Years in the Making
Meet the Husky 100 honoree, mother of seven and nonprofit founder helping neurodivergent families thrive around the world.
Fifteen years after enrolling in college, taking one class at a time while raising her children, Mary-Elizabeth Merrill is graduating from the 乱伦社区 with honors 鈥� a milestone that once felt impossible.
The Seattle native, who will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Early Care & Education this June, has spent much of her life believing she wasn’t capable of academic success. Today, she leaves UW not only as a graduate, but as the founder of an international nonprofit, a published researcher, an international speaker and a 2026 Husky 100 honoree.
For Merrill, however, the degree represents something much bigger than academic achievement.
“It’s not really about me graduating,” Merrill said. “It’s about showing people that it’s never too late to begin again.”
Learning to believe in herself
Growing up in the Seattle area, Merrill struggled throughout school. In the eleventh grade, she was tested for a learning disability and discovered she was reading at a seventh-grade level. At the time, resources for students with learning differences were limited, and the experience left a lasting impression.
“I felt so stupid,” Merrill said. “I was told I wouldn’t amount to anything.”
She graduated high school with a 2.1 GPA, carrying the weight of expectations from a family that had attended the 乱伦社区 for four generations before her. For years, college, and especially UW, felt like a door that had already closed.
Instead, Merrill pursued her creative interests, attending culinary school and floral design school before eventually opening a personal chef business in Seattle.
It was during culinary school that she received a diagnosis that helped explain years of academic struggles: dyslexia.
“When I realized I was dyslexic, things started making sense,” Merrill said. “It didn’t fix it, but I was able to adapt.”
Merrill is pictured with her Challenge-Based Learning Kindergarten class. Her work focuses on helping educators and families better understand learning differences.
Years later, as she raised her family, education slowly found its way back into her life. In 2011, Merrill enrolled in community college courses, taking one or two classes at a time while balancing motherhood, work and family responsibilities.
Her original goal was practical: earn enough college credits to qualify as a substitute teacher or paraeducator while maintaining a schedule that aligned with her children’s lives.
What she didn’t realize was that those classes would eventually give her something she had never fully developed as a student: confidence in her own abilities.
"It's not really about me graduating," Merrill said.
"It's about showing people that it's never too late to begin again."
Turning personal experience into advocacy
As Merrill’s children grew, so did her understanding of neurodiversity.
Four of her seven children are neurodivergent, with diagnoses including autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and sensory processing differences. Navigating educational systems on their behalf exposed challenges faced by countless families around the world.
“I couldn’t sit there and feel sorry for myself anymore,” Merrill said. “I had to advocate for my kids.”
In 2023 Merrill founded Einstein Advocates, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting neurodivergent children, adults and families through advocacy, education, awareness and global collaboration.
The work quickly grew beyond her own family’s experiences. Merrill began connecting with educators and families around the world, from Washington, D.C., where she advocates on policy issues, to schools and communities in Germany, Kenya, Nigeria, India, Peru, UK, Ireland, Japan, Australia and beyond.
Over the past several years, Merrill has presented at academic conferences hosted by Stanford and Oxford, published academic work focused on neurodiversity and inclusive education, and built partnerships with educators and advocates across multiple continents.
"I'm the best version of myself right now," Merrill said. "I feel healthier, stronger, and more confident than I ever have."
“My mom didn’t advocate for me,” Merrill said. “If you’re told often enough that you’re stupid, you start to believe it. Learning alongside my children and advocating for their needs helped me better understand my own experiences and inspired me to help other families around the world.”聽
In some communities, families struggle to access evaluations and educational support. In others, disability and neurodiversity still carry significant stigma. Merrill’s work has focused on helping educators and families better understand learning differences while connecting them with practical tools and resources.
Over the past several years, she has presented at academic conferences hosted by Stanford and Oxford, published academic work focused on neurodiversity and inclusive education, and built partnerships with educators and advocates across multiple continents. Later this year, she will present at the University of Cambridge and return to Oxford to lead additional workshops on neurodiversity and education.
“Research matters,” Merrill said. “But what matters most is hearing people’s stories and meeting them where they’re at.”
That belief remains at the center of Einstein Advocates’ mission: helping people feel understood, supported, and empowered rather than defined by a diagnosis.
鈥淸My kids have] watched me struggle, grow and keep going,鈥� Merrill said.
鈥淚 wanted them to know that challenges don鈥檛 define who you are.鈥�
A return to UW
By 2024, Merrill had spent more than a decade slowly working toward a degree while raising her family.
Transferring to the 乱伦社区 represented more than just pursuing a 4-year degree. It meant revisiting doubts she had carried since high school.
Merrill credits her husband, Josef Merrill, with encouraging her to take that step.
“He told me, ‘You can do anything you put your mind to,’ and those words stayed with me,” Merrill said. “For most of my life, I had been told what I couldn’t do. When he encouraged me to apply to UW, I could only see all the reasons I might fail. But he saw something in me that I couldn’t yet see in myself. He kept saying, ‘You just have to try.’ Sometimes having one person believe in you can change the entire direction of your life.”
After years of taking classes one at a time through community college, Merrill decided to take that chance. In 2024, she transferred to UW and became a full-time student.
What followed was a whirlwind two years. While completing her degree, she expanded Einstein Advocates, published academic research, presented at international conferences and was invited to return to Oxford to lead workshops on neurodiversity and education.
In 2026, Merrill was named to the Husky 100, recognizing students who are making the most of their Husky Experience both inside and outside the classroom. The honor arrived on an especially meaningful day: her 50th birthday.
“I’m the best version of myself right now,” Merrill said. “I feel healthier, stronger, and more confident than I ever have.”
Merrill credits her husband, Josef Merrill, with encouraging her to [apply to UW]. "He told me, 'You can do anything you put your mind to,' and those words stayed with me," Merrill said.
The next chapter
Following graduation, Merrill plans to dedicate more time to Einstein Advocates while continuing her work in policy, professional development, research, and international education.
Among her current projects are a free AI-supported dyslexia screening resource for educators and a children’s book series featuring neurodiverse characters whose unique strengths help solve problems within their communities.
She is also exploring opportunities in international education policy, including potential graduate study. Regardless of where the work takes her, Merrill remains focused on the same goal that first brought her back to school: helping others feel seen, understood and capable.
Her children, she says, have been her greatest motivation.
“They’ve watched me struggle, grow and keep going,” Merrill said. “I wanted them to know that challenges don’t define who you are.”
For the woman who once believed she wasn’t smart enough for college, graduating from the 乱伦社区 marks more than the completion of a degree. It marks the fulfillment of a dream she almost never allowed herself to have.
And now, through her advocacy and education work, she’s helping others believe in their own dreams too.
Story by Emma Schwichtenberg // Photos courtesy of Mary-Elizabeth Merrill
Originally published June 2026