Merle Nelson
{{Short description|American politician (born 1935)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Merle Nelson
| image =
| imagesize =
| smallimage =
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| order =
| state_house = Maine
| district =
| term_start = 1977
| term_end = 1986
| predecessor =
| term_start1 =
| term_end1 =
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| party = Democratic
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1935|05|08}}
| birth_place = Portland, Maine, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = Lesley College {{small|(B.A.)}}
Harvard University {{small|(M.A.)}}
| profession = Court mediator
| residence = Portland, Maine
Falmouth, Maine
| spouse = Leonard Nelson
| children = 3, including Judd Nelson
| website =
}}
Merle Nelson ({{nee|Royte}}; born May 8, 1935) is an American politician and court mediator.
Early life and education
Nelson, of Jewish ancestry, was born and raised in Portland, Maine. She graduated from Deering High School in 1953. She earned a teaching degree from Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She began teaching and earned a M.A. from Harvard University.{{cite web |title=Merle Nelson |url=https://www.portlandschoolspromise.org/story/merle-nelson/ |website=Portland Public Schools Promise |accessdate=30 May 2020 |date=10 January 2018}}
Political career
A Democrat, she served five terms in the Maine House of Representatives from 1977 to 1986. In 1977, while a first-term legislator, Nelson testified to the Subcommittee on Employment, Poverty, and Migratory Labor of the United States Congress on behalf of the Displaced Homemakers Act.{{cite web |title=Displaced Homemakers Act, 1977: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Employment, Poverty, and Migratory Labor of the Committee on Human Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, First Session, on S. 418 ... September 12 and 13, 1977 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NsTaxMDoqEsC&q=%22merle+nelson%22+maine&pg=PA137 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |accessdate=30 May 2020 |language=en |date=1977}} Nelson played a leading role in helping establish Seeds of Peace international summer camp in Otisfield, Maine.{{cite book |last1=Peck |first1=Abraham J. |last2=Peck |first2=Jean M. |title=Maine's Jewish Heritage |date=2007 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1-4396-3457-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=foNCuNy5EX8C&q=%22merle+nelson%22+maine&pg=PT161 |language=en}} In 2005, Governor John Baldacci nominated her to the board of trustees of the Maine Community College System.Maine State Legislature (122nd: 2004-2006), "Legislative History: Governor's Nomination: Merle Nelson of Falmouth nominated for appointment as member of the Board of Trustees, Maine Community College System (SP581)," https://digitalmaine.com/legishist122/2274 The Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community's Merle Nelson Making a Difference award is named in her honor.{{cite news |title=Maine Centers for Women, Work and Community honors Mary Herman for public service |url=https://bangordailynews.com/bdn-maine/community/maine-centers-for-women-work-and-community-honors-mary-herman-for-public-service/ |accessdate=30 May 2020 |publisher=Bangor Daily News |date=9 April 2013}}
Family
She is married to a fellow Harvard alumnus Leonard Nelson, a Portland-based corporate attorney. They live in Falmouth Foreside, Maine. One of their children, Judd Nelson (born 1959), is a well-known television and film actor.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Merle}}
Category:Deering High School alumni
Category:Lesley University alumni
Category:Harvard University alumni
Category:Politicians from Portland, Maine
Category:People from Falmouth, Maine
Category:Women state legislators in Maine
Category:Jewish state legislators in Maine
Category:Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives
Category:Jewish American women in politics
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:21st-century American women
Category:20th-century American women politicians
Category:20th-century members of the Maine Legislature
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