Vice President, Communications
Merrill helps Texans better understand the research, data and policy choices shaping the state's future. Before joining Texas 2036, she spent more than three decades advising Fortune 500 companies, trade associations and nonprofits across Texas on strategic communications and public affairs.
When a Texan walks into a doctor’s office, they expect their care to be guided by their health needs, not by corporate ownership structures they can’t see. As hospital systems grow through mergers and acquisitions, ownership structures become harder to track, referral incentives become harder to detect, and consolidation becomes harder to address. When a…
Nuclear fission — the splitting of atoms to release heat and drive a chain reaction — is as fascinating as it is powerful. Today, nuclear power plants provide 20% of total U.S. electricity. Nuclear power continues to play a critical role in Texas’ “all of the above and below” energy portfolio, supplying nearly a tenth…
Dr. Tracy Ayrhart is parent of two public elementary school students and vice president of Data and Research at Texas 2036. Spring STAAR End-of-Course results became available to families through the online Family Portal on June 10, 2026, with grades 3–8 following on June 16, 2026. When yours arrive, this is the walkthrough I use…
Dr. Tracy Ayrhart is a parent of two public elementary school students and vice president of Data and Research at Texas 2036. Like a lot of Texas parents, I’ll be logging into the Family Portal in mid-June to look at my kids’ STAAR results. One just finished third grade, the other just finished fifth. It’s…
Earlier this week, we shared that Spring 2026 STAAR End of Course (EOC) results showed growth compared to 2025 in every subject and across every major student group statewide. When you examine how performance varied across Texas’ 20 Education Service Center (ESC) regions, that headline mostly holds, but the story of growth underneath it is…