Gagetown-Petitcodiac

Elect Marilyn Merritt-Gray

 Marilyn lives with her family in Kars on Belleisle Bay. Her roots run deep in the Gagetown-Petitcodiac Riding with generations of her family have lived here. Marilyn is a nurse and continues to work part-time. Her expertise is in mental health, women’s wellness, rural health service delivery, community development and trauma-informed healthcare.

She worked as a community nurse for 8 years in Charlotte County and for over 20 years as a professor of nursing at UNB. An internationally recognized health researcher, Marilyn has held over 17 national health research grants and co-facilitated many provincial and community action-oriented research projects.

She has over 30 peer-reviewed academic publications and has spoken at a number of international, national and local professional and community events. Marilyn received the Award for Excellence in Research from the Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International and the Leadership Award for Women’s Health from the Maritime Center of Excellence for Women’s Health. She is currently a member of the NB Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, an active member of Reproductive Justice NB, the Standing For Water and Voices community advocacy groups, and a member of the Belleisle Watershed Coalition. She was Vice-chair of the Provincial Mental Health Commission Board and for 4 years was the Chairperson of the Mental Health Commission Board for Health Region III.

For many years she was on the executive of the NB Mental Health Nurse Interest Group and has been a board member for several not-for-profit community service agencies. Gardens and forests have been Marilyn’s lifelong passion along with her respect and interest in elders and sustainable rural communities.