Merlyn Tejada

Merlyn serves as a Director at Watershed. Her journey at Watershed began as an analyst and progressed through the senior analyst role, reflecting her commitment to enhancing educational outcomes for all children.

Prior to Watershed, Merlyn was a budget analyst at the Louisiana Department of Education, where she managed the allocation of over $150 million annually, supporting vital school initiatives. In that role, she played an instrumental part in crafting Louisiana’s education budget requests, managing significant federal grant programs—including the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant—and overseeing critical COVID-19 funding allocations. Known for her collaborative approach, Merlyn consistently positioned herself as a strategic fiscal partner, adept at aligning fiscal strategy to academic strategy and breaking down traditional silos within state government. She remains passionate about ensuring that government effectively serves the children and families it is intended to support.

Merlyn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainable Development from Columbia University and a Master’s in Education Policy and Analysis from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). During her time at HGSE she served as a consultant to the Ministry of Education in the state of Coahuila, Mexico and was the director of finance for HGSE’s inaugural AI & Education Conference: Stories from the Global South. She currently resides in the Bronx, New York, where she was born and raised, continuing to deepen her commitment to communities similar to those that shaped her own educational journey.