Patty Merk
- Interim Director, Yavapai County
- Area Agent, Family and Youth Development
- Regional Specialist, Agriculture Education
- (602) 908-0531
- MARICOPA COUNTY
- PHOENIX, AZ 85040-8807
- pmerk@cals.arizona.edu
Biography
Dr. Patricia (Patty) Merk creates, implements and manages programs for children and families as Area Extension Agent and Regional Specialist for the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension in Maricopa County. Her programs are focused in the areas of early childhood development, preschool environments and curricula, and early childhood teacher education, focusing on early brain development, nature education in preschools, child development and family literacy. Dr. Merk has twenty-eight years of experience in educating parents and early childhood professionals in child development. Dr. Patty Merk incorporates a high degree of community development and outreach into her programs and promotes families making connections with each other. She is the co-author of several peer-reviewed, research-based curricula including Brain Builders for Life: Prenatal to Age 3 and Arizona Community Training, a leadership curriculum. She has served as a member of the First Things First South Phoenix Regional Council for 12 years and contributes in numerous capacities with collaborative groups, alliances and boards.
Degrees
- Ph.D. Family Studies and Human Development
- University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, US
- Conceptualizing the Relationships Between Grandmothers and the Grandchildren They Are Raising: A Grounded Theory Approach
- M.S. Child Development and Family Studies
- Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States
- B.S. Journalism
- Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Awards
- Professional Achievement Award
- The Council of Alumni and Friends of the John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arizona, Fall 2021
- Certificate of Appreciation for Regional Council Service
- First Things First, Summer 2020
- Certificate of Service
- Arizona Association for Family and Consumer Sciences, Fall 2019
- Selected as Featured Speaker for National Center for Families Learning Conference
- Bezos Family Foundation and Vroom, Fall 2019
- Special Award for 11 Years of Regional Council Service
- First Things First, Fall 2019
- Listen 4 Good Community of Practice and Honorarium
- Listen 4 Good, Summer 2019
Interests
No activities entered.
Courses
No activities entered.
Scholarly Contributions
Presentations
- Merk, P. A. (2021, Fall). Meeting Important Milestones for Child Development. Arizona Young Parent University. Virtual: Arizona Department of Child Safety.More infoThe 45-minute workshop provided an overview of the parent's role in their child's development.
Creative Productions
- Tapia, K., Campana, Y., Aborached, H., Nieves, G., & Merk, P. A. (2020. University of Arizona-Roosevelt Early Childhood Family Resource Center Early Childhood STEAM Video Series. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/MaricopaFRC/: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.More infoThis series includes short video-recorded readings of books related to STEAM for very young children. A demonstration of an activity related to the book and an explanation of the science is shown. In the series, there are are 30 English STEAM videos, 30 in Spanish and 23 in Arabic.
Other Teaching Materials
- Merk, P. A., & Martinez, C. L. (2020. Training Overview, Brain Builders for Life: Birth to Three Curriculum Version 2.0. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.More infoThis work is a 17-page overview of the a 16-hour early brain development curriculum for parents and early childhood professionals. It has been submitted to peer review.
- Merk, P. A., Dixon, D. L., Whitmer, E. B., & Martinez, C. L. (2020. Unit 2. Learning About the Brain, Brain Builders for Life: Birth to Three Curriculum Version 2.0. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.More infoThis work is a 30-slide PowerPoint presentation for the 16-hour early brain development curriculum for parents and early childhood professionals. It has been submitted to peer review.
- Merk, P. A., Martinez, C. L., Wilson, H., Curley, D. L., Wyatt, M. A., & Dixon, A. L. (2020. Unit 1. Nature and Nurture, Brain Builders for Life: Birth to Three Curriculum, Version 2.0. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.More infoThis work is a 27-slide PowerPoint presentation for page the 16-hour early brain development curriculum for parents and early childhood professionals. It has been submitted to peer review.
- Merk, P. A., Whitmer, E. B., & Martinez, C. L. (2020. Unit 3. Social and Emotional Development, Brain Builders for Life: Birth to Three Curriculum Version 2.0. University of Arizona Cooperative Extension.More infoThis work is a 48-slide PowerPoint presentation for the 16-hour early brain development curriculum for parents and early childhood professionals. It has been submitted to peer review.
