Mary Mergler
Mary Mergler is General Counsel & Strategic Initiatives Director at the Fines & Fees Justice Center (FFJC). In this role, she serves as the organization’s principal legal officer and manages cross-functional projects that support FFJC’s long-term strategic goals. Previously, Mary served as Deputy Director of FFJC’s National Advocacy and Campaigns team, working with state and national partners across the country to advance fines and fees reform, and has also supported FFJC’s work as an independent consultant.
Mary has spent her career furthering reform of the criminal legal system through advocacy, research and support of organizations and coalitions dedicated to that mission. Prior to joining FFJC, Mary was Director of the Criminal Justice Project at Texas Appleseed, where she led numerous state and local campaigns to end harmful fines, fees and collection practices, for nearly a decade. She also served as Senior Counsel of The Constitution Project’s Criminal Justice Program, bringing together unlikely allies to promote indigent defense and death penalty reform, and spent two years in private practice at a law firm in Washington, DC.
Mary received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and her B.S. in Business cum laude from Wake Forest University, and is a member of the State Bar of Texas and D.C. Bar. She lives in Arlington, VA, with her husband and three daughters.