Saluting Hispanic Heritage History Month: Merlyn Calderon

Merlyn Calderon has been a Presidential Management Fellow in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Exchanges Budget Office, since 2005.  Merlyn first entered the Department of State in 2001 as a Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities intern in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of International Visitors Program. Her fellowship assignments have included staffing the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Special Assistant to the Public Affairs Minister Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France and recently she served on the Passport Task Force in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Prior to joining the State Department, Merlyn was a Senior Legislative Assistant in the California State Legislature for Assembly Appropriations Chair Judy Chu from 2002 to 2005, where she focused on public health policy issues.  She was also awarded a California State Executive Fellowship with the California Department of Consumer Affairs from 2001 to 2002.

Merlyn holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, and a B.A. in Global Studies from California State University, Monterey Bay. 

Merlyn, the youngest in her family of six children and the first to attend college, is the daughter of Mexican immigrants hailing from Salinas, California.  She speaks Italian and is a native Spanish speaker. 

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