Soror Kerilyn Merritt has over 20 years of sales experience in the national and international business sector. As a graduate of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism – Integrated Marketing Communications/Advertising and minored in Black American Studies. She began her marketing career early on while attending college as a student associate for the university’s Student Housing Marketing Department, and then interning her senior collegiate year for the Advertising Department at Walgreens, Co. headquartered in Deerfield, IL. Shortly after graduating from college, she began her career in the radio and television news industry by working as a Marketing consultant for a 12-station radio conglomerate of the Northern Illinois, Southeast Wisconsin area and then for CLTV News/Tribune of Oak Brook, IL as a Traffic/Sales/Marketing professional.

After 10 years of working in broadcast media, Soror Merritt transitioned in her career by transferring her marketing and sales skills into the remodeling and new construction industry as a National Accounts Manager to the present day. Throughout her current career, Soror Merritt has facilitated product and sales training to senior management and c-level executives, and has been responsible for account management, and increased revenue of national buying group accounts within the remodeling and new construction trade industry – each with respective memberships of 2000+ stores and locations.

She has traveled to and presented at well over 100 national and international trade show event demonstrations – including public speaking engagements at McCormick Place – Chicago, IL at the National Kitchen & Bath Industry Show for a floor traffic audience of 30,000+ attendees. With her wide breadth of experience, Soror Merritt also managed to make room to satisfy her natural desire to exercise her communication abilities by way of contribution to create written content for website publications, been a featured writer and video/voiceover talent for product training videos, and mass media campaigns for companies she has worked for. She has also been a CAN-TV cable television host for Africa International House (African Festival of Arts) and a red-carpet host for the Miss Black Illinois USA and for the 58th Annual Ghana Independence Day Celebration on behalf Ghana International Council of Chicago, IL.

Having first proudly served as a graduate chapter member of Zeta Zeta chapter of Dolton, IL in 2003, with the change of her career and its location, Soror Merritt became a member of a graduate chapter closer to her home – Tau Xi Zeta chapter. As a reclaimed member in 2018, Soror Merritt quickly became reacclimated and earned an award by the vote of her peers – the 2020 Tau Xi Zeta Rising Star Award; an award presented to a soror who has “taken upon herself greater responsibility within the chapter, has demonstrated her desire to serve through participation on committees, and has greatly contributed to the Chapter’s endeavors in a short period of time”. Throughout her Zeta journey, Soror Merritt has served as Community Service Chair, Chaplain, and has served on committees such as Public Relations, Corporate Relations and the chapter’s Social committee. Soror Merritt now brings her professional communication background and skills to the forefront in her newest, elected role as Tau Xi Zeta’s Editor for the 2020-2022 term. Soror Merritt also serves on the executive board of The Finer Alliance, a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to raising scholarship funds for college bound students of the West Side of Chicago, IL and its surrounding suburbs. She is also a loyal donor to Hope For Paws, a 501 non-profit animal rescue organization that rescues animals facing death or danger through abuse or abandonment.