Merrie Spaeth has a unique background in media, government, politics, business and the entertainment industry. She is a pioneer in communication theory and executive training, and acknowledged as one of the preeminent crisis management strategists in the country. Merrie founded Dallas-based Spaeth Communications, Inc. in 1987. The Firm provides communication training and consulting for a wide range of companies and institutions. She is also the founder and president of the Institute for Strategic Communications, a not-for-profit foundation devoted to studying and reporting on business communication issues. In the early 1980s, Merrie served as a White House Fellow and was assigned to FBI Director William Webster. She was the first Fellow and one of the first two women on the Director's staff. From the FBI, she served two years at the Federal Trade Commission as Director of Public Affairs, and in 1984, President Ronald Reagan named her Director of Media Relations at the White House. During her tenure, Merrie introduced satellite communications to the White House, and launched the electronic White House News Service. One newspaper headline said she "Took the White House into the Space Age."She has worked in every area of print and electronic media. She's been a radio and television talk show host, a producer for ABC's "20/20", and a reporter and writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Daily News, Family Weekly, and many other magazines and papers. USA Today Sunday Magazine featured her weekly column on personal finance and investing called "Your Finances". Her first book Marketplace Communication (MasterMedia) was inspired by her "Marketplace" commentaries heard on public radio stations across the country. In the entertainment field, Merrie was honored as "Filmdom's Famous Five" in the 1960s for her achievements as an actress in television and film. Her best known work is "The World of Henry Orient" with Peter Sellers and Angela Lansbury. She later became a speechwriter for the legendary William S. Paley, founder and chairman of CBS, Inc. Other honors include Glamour Magazine's 10 Outstanding Working Women of America, the National Council of Women's Citation of Accomplishment. A cum laude graduate of Smith College, she holds a Masters degree from Columbia Business School and was awarded the school's Overall Achievement Award. She lectures in the Global Executives program at the Wharton School, the graduate school of business for the University of Pennsylvania, and is an adjunct Professor for the Business Leadership Center in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Merrie is on the Board of the National Childrens' Eye Care Foundation and the Law Enforcement Television Network (LETN). Her firm commits between five and ten percent of its time each year to pro bono training for civic and charitable organizations.