He is a Fellow and past president of the American Institute of Certified Planners, a former director of the American Planning Association (APA) and a previous chair of APA’s Planning & Law Division. He is also a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and The Counselors of Real Estate, and he teaches land use law at Vermont Law School.

Mr. Merriam received his B.A. in sociology, cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was also elected to Phi Kappa Phi. He received his master of regional planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. at Yale Law School.

EDUCATION

—	J.D., Yale University School of Law
—	M.R.P., University of North Carolina, planning
—	B.A., cum laude, University of Massachusetts

PROFESSIONAL & TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

—	American Bar Association, 1978 to present, Council, Section of State & Local Government Law (2003 to 2007); Liaison to the ABA Journal, Section of State & Local Government (2003 to 2004); member of President Dennis Archer's Working Group on Protecting the Rights of Service Members, Standing Committee on Legal Assistance for Military Personnel (2003 to present)
—	American Boat Builders and Repairers Association, 1995 to 1997, Director
—	American College of Real Estate Lawyers
—	American Institute of Certified Planners, Fellow and past president
—	American Planning Association, former director and previous chair of Planning & Law Division
—	Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)
—	Vermont Law School, 1994, faculty
—	The Counselors of Real Estate, 2002, Connecticut Chapter, secretary/treasurer