Merry Rankin serves as Director of Sustainability for Iowa State University and Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Ames. Through these roles, she is responsible for coordinating sustainability (greening) activities at Iowa State University and serving as a central resource related to sustainability collaboration and information, as well as facilitating community sustainability planning and implementation related to energy consumption, waste reduction and diversion, renewable energy and climate action.  

Before coming to ISU, she worked for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (on their Recycling Technical Assistance Team and as Program Director for the Keepers of the Land Volunteer Program) and also with Iowa State University Wildlife and Fisheries Extension.  

Ms. Rankin has a Bachelor of Science in General Business and a Master of Science in Wildlife Biology, both from Iowa State University, and completed post-graduate work at the University of Cape Town. She has also completed international environmental human dimensions research in India, Costa Rica and Australia.