Brent Merchant co-founded Merchant McIntyre and Amplio Services to ensure that nonprofit organizations are able to deliver best-in-class programs and services to the communities and individuals they serve. Brent brings decades of experience helping nonprofit institutions and organizations navigate public funding processes and access funding that enables them to address strategic priorities, implement projects, address building and infrastructure needs, and serve people.
Brent’s experience securing hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding and supporting the implementation of those projects enables him to inform an organization’s strategic planning, program and project design, financial planning, and implementation approach. To advance our clients’ projects forward and maximize the impact of federal funding, Brent regularly interacts directly with federal agency leadership and staff at the Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration, Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, and Office of Rural Health, among other federal agencies.
Prior to co-founding Merchant McIntyre Associates and Amplio Services, Brent secured grant funding for nonprofit clients in the Washington office of the Russ Reid Company, then the largest marketing and communications agency in the world serving exclusively nonprofits.
In 2009, Brent established the federal government presence for LPB Energy Management, advising the company on policy and legislative matters and overseeing the development and execution of government contracts and partnerships.
From 2001 to 2008, Brent served as senior staff at the Department of Energy, where he was named to the position of Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Energy. In that role, Brent advised the Secretary on policy, operational, regulatory, and legislative issues. Brent also served as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Energy, focusing on policy, project management, and operational issues throughout the Department and its National Laboratory complex.
Brent began his career working as an aide to U.S. Senator Spencer Abraham after graduating from Hope College in his native Michigan.
Brent and his wife of 18 years, Anne, are the proud parents of two sons. An active member of his community, Brent serves on the board of his local Little League and coaches his sons’ baseball and basketball teams.