Meryle Mahrer Kaplan

Meryle Mahrer Kaplan, Ph.D., leads Advisory Services, which provides strategic consultation and analytical support to Catalyst member companies interested in promoting diversity and advancing women. Dr. Kaplan has more than 20 years of experience working with organizations, assessing their work environments, developing effective strategies to enhance workplace diversity and inclusion, and designing and implementing customized solutions. In addition, she is an expert on the process of making change and is experienced in leading initiatives with multiple stakeholders.

She has played a leadership role in several Catalyst activities, including the design of the Work and Life Effectiveness Strategy sessions and the development of Diversity and Inclusion 101. Dr. Kaplan is also an active participant in Catalyst’s global activities and women of color initiatives. She is a frequent speaker and workshop leader in the United States and Europe on the benefits of diversity and inclusion, strategy development, values, and building networks and alliances across groups.

Dr. Kaplan received her B.A. in Psychology from Douglass College, her M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Connecticut, and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University, where she continues to teach graduate classes in the psychology of women. She is the recipient of a Woodrow Wilson Research Grant in Women’s Studies, editor of Mothers’ Images of Motherhood, and co-editor of Representations of Motherhood, an anthology published by Yale University Press.