MERRICK VAN DONGEN

As Director of Military Affairs at Microsoft, Merrick Van Dongen leads a team focused on the structure and delivery of curricula used within the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA) program to serve transitioning service members and veterans, and manages partner and customer engagement on training and credentialing initiatives for military and service-connected audiences. 

Merrick has worked in the education and training field for over 30 years with a focus on education program/product management as well as e-Learning, instructor-led, and blended curriculum solutions.  A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Universiteit Twente (Netherlands), Merrick holds a BSc degree in Marine Engineering and a MSc in Education & Training Systems Design.  After serving as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, Merrick has held successive education management, sales, and business support positions in the U.S. Navy and at the University of Victoria, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and SkillSoft Corporation, prior to joining Microsoft.  Merrick's early career at Microsoft involved managing courseware product strategy to address academic and commercial audience needs through courseware publishing, learning content review programs, evaluation software delivery through publishers, and other learning products and services. Prior to joining Microsoft's Military Affairs team, Merrick oversaw Microsoft Worldwide Learning's courseware readiness efforts for Microsoft Learning Partners and Microsoft Certified Trainers using learning products developed to help students adopt, train on, and use Microsoft technologies worldwide.