Hall of Fame
Merchant was a standout in the sport of field hockey for Oneonta from 1980-83. During her four years with the program, the team had an overall record of 55-23-1 while qualifying for the national tournament once in 1980, where the team placed 8th. At the time of her graduation she set the career marks for goals (46) and points (109), which still ranks her in the top five all-time in the history of the program.
Merchant’s postgraduate life has been spent working in systems engineering and intelligence as a federal employee since 1986 while also coaching the sports of field hockey. In 2007, she coached the Western Albermarle High School squad that won the Virginia State title while earning State Coach of the Year honors.
Merchant has advanced degrees from West Point and the University of Alabama at Huntsville and is considered to be one of the country’s premier thinkers on Biometric Intelligence.
She is currently employed by Harding Security Associates as Vice President for Identity Intelligence.
