Kelly Merchán
Communications Specialist, Department of Global Development

About
Kelly Merchán is a communications specialist in the Department of Global Development. She highlights the department’s impactful work at home and abroad through storytelling, web copy, social media and internal communications. She also serves as the communications specialist for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement. She believes that information is a powerful tool that can ignite positive change in communities around the globe.
Before joining the team at Cornell, Kelly lived and worked in Cuenca, Ecuador for 4 years, where she designed and directed the country’s first capacity building program for nonprofit and grassroots leaders. Aside from the communications field, she has a background in project management, conflict resolution, Latin American studies and community building.
Kelly holds a M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University and a B.A. in Anthropology and International Studies from Towson University. Kelly currently resides in Ithaca with her husband, Eduardo. In her free time, Kelly can be found running or hiking trails, drinking coffee, planning travels, and learning about other cultures.
Her daily mission statement: contribute to the betterment of the world.
Interests
Communication
Conflict Resolution
Latin America
Contact Information
Warren 240E
Ithaca, NY 14853
kim28 [at] cornell.edu
Kelly in the news

News
Eight graduate students from 1890 land grant institutions across the United States have been selected as part of the inaugural cohort of Thomas Wyatt Turner Fellows at Cornell University. Representing a wide range of research specialties...
- Animal Science
- Biological and Environmental Engineering
- Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

Spotlight
As a young researcher working with plant breeders to develop improved wheat varieties for smallholder farmers, Hale Ann Tufan confronted a profound dilemma. It wasn’t an issue of gnarly plant genetics or unruly research fields — commonplace...
- Department of Global Development
- School of Integrative Plant Science
- Plant Breeding and Genetics Section