Greetings Merit Members!
Thank you all for the warm welcome as Merit Network’s President and CEO. Since starting this role on July 3rd, I have felt a firm responsibility to, and a true privilege in, serving this community. I would like to thank the Merit board for their confidence in me and the Merit staff for their help in showing me the ropes. Most of all, I thank the Merit members – those I’ve known for years through my school board experience or professionally, and those I am meeting and getting to know for the first time – for offering your support and best wishes as I join the Merit community.
Merit’s mission is to make our society a better place to learn, discover, work, and live by ‘Connecting Organizations and Building Community.’ Pursuing this mission requires an unyielding dedication to operational excellence and maintenance of a growth mindset that helps us anticipate your needs and see new possibilities. This mission energizes the Merit team and gives us a purpose unlike others. You see the mission in action through our Moonshot program that promotes digital equity and problem solving for those affected by the digital divide. You see it reflected in Project MOON-Light which is bringing next-generation optical bandwidth to our state to meet the advanced requirements of the research community and to help extend the reach of the Internet into thousands of unserved homes across Michigan. You see it as Merit works to close gaps left by others and meet ever-evolving connectivity needs. And you will see it in the future as Merit connects members to enhanced capabilities for detection and response to cyber threats and as Merit does more to develop vital skills across Michigan’s workforce to sustain progress that builds strong communities. Through these and other initiatives, your investment in Merit stays within the community and generates a dividend that advances society.
While Merit offers its members a unique “mission focused” mix of connections and community, we cannot achieve our mission alone. Indeed, the only way our mission can be achieved is by keeping Merit members at the center of our focus and enabling the collective power of Merit’s incredible member community to achieve the mission each of you is dedicated towards. That means your input is vital to our mutual success. Merit is doing a lot right and there’s a solid starting point but there’s more work for us to do. I invite each and every one of you to be an active contributor in the Merit community and to let your voice help shape our future. I look forward to hearing from you and the collaboration that follows.
With warm regards,
