Washington, D.C. – Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI), President Robin Wiener today announced that Melissa Merz has joined ISRI as vice president of communications and marketing. A veteran communications professional, Merz has worked at the national, state, and local levels of government, including more than a dozen years on Capitol Hill and four years serving as the chief spokesperson for the Illinois attorney general. Prior to joining ISRI, Merz was a principal at the bipartisan Podesta Group (Washington, D.C.) and served as vice president of communications at a Washington-based think tank at which she managed all media outreach and press operations. Between 2006 and 2007, she served as communications director for U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Merz also served as press secretary to then-U.S. Rep. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) from 1995 to 1997. After Durbin was elected to the U.S. Senate, Merz became the senator’s communications director, a position she held until 2002. Durbin subsequently became the U.S. Senate majority whip. In 2002, Merz joined the campaign of then-Illinois state Sen. Lisa Madigan to become Illinois attorney general, serving as the campaign’s communications director. After Madigan’s victory, Merz continued to serve as her spokesperson until 2006. Merz has held additional positions on the staffs of three U.S. representatives and worked as executive assistant to Podesta Group Founder and Chairman Tony Podesta.
“In 2010, the scrap recycling industry provided a $77 billion boost to the U.S. economy, employed some 110,000 workers, helped protect our environment, and saved energy that otherwise would be used to process virgin materials,” Merz said. “This alignment of issues is unique to the scrap recycling industry and I am excited to help make sure that people understand what scrap recycling is and why it’s so important.”
Merz earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Ill. Originally from Oklahoma, she serves on the board of trustees of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s National Capital Area.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI), is the “Voice of the Recycling Industry.” ISRI represents more than 1,500 companies in 21 chapters nationwide that process, broker, and consume scrap commodities, including metals, paper, plastics, glass, rubber, electronics and textiles. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Institute provides education, advocacy, and compliance training, and promotes public awareness of the vital role recycling plays in the U.S. economy, global trade, the environment and sustainable development.