Merle Nelson (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Royte; born May 8, 1935) is an American politician and court mediator.

Early life and education

Nelson, who is Jewish, 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.

Political career

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, she served five terms in the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

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. Nelson played a leading role in helping establish

Seeds of Peace Seeds of Peace is a peacebuilding and leadership development organization headquartered in New York City. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth and educators from areas of conflict to its camp in Maine. It a ...

international summer camp in

Otisfield, Maine Otisfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,853 at the 2020 census. Otisfield is a summer recreation area and home to Seeds of Peace Camp and Camp Arcadia. History It was granted by the Massachusetts Gener ...

. In 2005, Governor John Baldacci nominated her to the board of trustees of the Maine Community College System. The Maine Centers for Women, Work, and Community's ''Merle Nelson Making a Difference award'' is named in her honor.

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

1935 births Living people Deering High School alumni Lesley University alumni Harvard University alumni Politicians from Portland, Maine People from Falmouth, Maine Women state legislators in Maine Jewish American state legislators in Maine Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Jewish women politicians Seeds of Peace 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians {{Maine-politician-stub