Full Name

Merry Walker

Job Title

Senior Policy Advisor for International Science & Technology

Company

White House

Speaker Bio

Merry M. Walker is a decorated U.S. diplomat, engineer, and entrepreneur with two decades of experience shaping international policy at the intersection of national security and emerging technology. Most recently, she served as Senior Policy Advisor for International Science and Technology at the White House, where she led U.S. global engagement on critical technologies including AI, quantum, biotech, semiconductors, and space. As a career diplomat, she has served in Guangzhou, Djibouti, Paris, London, and twice in Washington, including assignments in the intelligence community, on the China Desk, and in support of Operation Allies Welcome. Drawing on her technical roots as an energy engineer—with a U.S. patent to her name—Merry is a recognized foreign policy expert on emerging tech and U.S.-China relations. She has advanced global tech policy through bilateral diplomacy and multilateral forums including the G7, G20, and OECD. In addition to mentoring women and girls in STEM, she now leads two ventures: Dots, a fitness-tech startup focused on connection through movement, and a new space manufacturing company transforming the U.S. industrial base.