Merrie Blocker

Merrie Blocker is a former U.S. diplomat. She discovered the Jewish farming colonies set up by Baron Maurice de Hirsch in Argentina and Brazil when she served as Director of the U.S. Cultural Center in Buenos Aires and as Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Merrie is the translator of the first literary work to reflect the life of immigrants to the Brazilian colonies, On a Clear April Morning. She is now working with Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, Regina Igel, on a complete translation of Filipson, the first work by a woman to describe these colonies from which the chapter Adelia’s Wedding in Jews Across the Americas is taken. Merrie is also the creator of thebaronhirschcommunity.org relating the work of Baron de Hirsch assisting Jewish immigrants in the U.S. and Canada as well as Argentina and Brazil. Merrie is a graduate of Reed College in Portland, Oregon and holds a M.F.A. in Museology from Syracuse University. She lives outside Washington, D.C. where she works through the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society (HIAS) to assist those groups that seek refuge today, by providing them with Spanish language translation and interpretation services.

She is available to give talks or class visits online or in person for a fee. Languages: Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

CV: https://thebaronhirschcommunity.org/merrie-d-blocker/