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Alumni Spotlight Dr. Zeita Merchant,

Vol. III, Issue VII

Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Coast Guard

Distinguished NGS Alumna and Coast Guard officer, Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Zeita Merchant, is now Dr. Zeita Merchant after graduating this June from The National Graduate School’s Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program. In addition to earning her doctorate degree, LCDR Merchant was awarded the Master of Science in Quality Systems Management from The National Graduate School in 2003 and the Master of Public Administration in Environmental and Emergency Management from George Washington University in Washington D.C. in 2010. Enjoying over 14 years of active duty service, LCDR Merchant is a recognized expert in the complex and rapidly changing marine safety and environmental field; she recently earned valuable experience as a responder and an advisor to the DEEPWATER HORIZON oil spill. Currently, LCDR Merchant serves as a Congressional Fellow on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. During the 111th Congress, she employed her multifaceted expertise in guiding legislation that governed the Coast Guard and maritime transportation activity. More recently at the start of the 112th Congress, she was Dr. Zeita Merchant, LCDR, U.S. Coast Guard

selected to serve as a Fellow on the Committee of Oversight and Government Reform where she supports the committee's oversight work on fraud, waste and abuse in the federal government.

LCDR Merchant says her decision to enroll in NGS QSM program was one of the best decisions she has made. She stated the program forever changed the way she viewed and solved problems and positioned her on path of lifelong learning. Both her Master project and DBA dissertation focused on evaluating and identifying program challenges facing the Coast Guard in a post-9/11 environment. LCDR Merchant is an passionate volunteer and has organized numerous community-service initiatives with organizations whose mission it is to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technological, engineering and mathematical fields of study all while offering the youth of our world an opportunity to learn the skills needed to compete in the 21st-century workforce. She has been honored with countless professional, academic, and community service awards, including her recent selection to receive the 2011 Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) STEM K-12 Promotion of Education Award, the 2010 Annual MEAC/SWAC Challenge Legends HBCU Trailblazer Award and the 2010 Coast Guard Award for Excellence in Diversity.