Larry L. Merritt is the Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for the IPRA. Prior to joining IPRA, Mr. Merritt served as the Public Information Officer at the City of Chicago’s Department of Environment (DOE), where he was employed from the Fall of 2004 until the closing of the department in December 2012. Before joining DOE, Mr. Merritt served as an Assistant Press Secretary in then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s press office and, prior to that, began his tenure in public service to the City of Chicago as a Senior Producer/Writer for the City of Chicago’s TV show Chicago Works, where he was employed from July 2001 until July 2003. Prior to joining City government, Mr. Merritt worked as an Assistant Assignment Editor at Fox Chicago News for two years. Mr. Merritt was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago. He is a graduate of Lane Tech High School and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Mr. Merritt is a proud volunteer coach for the Windy City Dolphins youth football program on Chicago’s West Side. Mr. Merritt also holds the collateral duty of being IPRA’s Public Information Officer (PIO), and all media inquiries should be directed to his attention.