Denise Patricia Meridith was born to the parents of Glenarva and Dorothy Meridith in Brooklyn, New York in 1952. Denise was the younger of two girls. Her dad was an accomplished big band and army musician and her mother worked for the Internal Revenue Service. She attended elementary school in Queens. Early-on, Denise developed a love of animals, raising her own fish, hamsters, turtles, and a beagle and 25-pound cat named Caesar. In additional to her love for animals, at about age 5 she began to dance, a theatrical desire that she continued all the way through high school. She loved eating hot dogs, watching The Rifleman, and riding in the family's old '49 Dodge. Denise recalls experiencing the challenges of racism, at a very young age. It wasn't the students, as much as the teachers, who differentiated her regularly for the color of her skin.

As she transitioned to Jr. High School, she added journalism to her growing list of passions, writing for the school newspaper. In 1966 she entered John Bowne High School, a school she and her parents believed would help her to fulfill her dream of being a veterinarian. Denise was an A-student in school, but readily admits her attentions were more focused on dance, writing, animals and New York style theatrical entertainment than studies. She continued to dream of being a veterinarian.

With her dream of becoming a veterinarian, she chose Cornell University for her college studies, figuring this fine school would give her the best chance of getting accepted into vet school upon graduation. The civil rights battles of the 60's, combined with the mounting odds against a black woman being accepted into the white veterinary schools of the day, led Denise to the conclusion that she needed another career track. In her sophomore year at Cornell, Denise changed her major to Wildlife Biology, a decision that would change her professional destiny in profound ways.

Today, Denise enjoys Diamondbacks baseball, writing for various publications, advocating for significant causes, mentoring, and accepting unconditional love from her two Cairn Terriers (Mulder & Xander).

Professional - Denise Meridith, BS, MPA

Denise Meridith has cut new roads and broken down walls throughout her career...

  • 1st professional woman hired by the US Bureau of Land Management - 1973
  • 1st Black or woman Chief of Resources/Deputy State Director (1980) and Associate State Director (1989) promoted by the BLM
  • 1st Female State Director ever in the BLM - 1991
  • 1st and highest ranking Black woman ever in the BLM (US Deputy Director BLM, Washington, DC)
  • 1st ever BLM Legend Award recipient - 2002
In a Public Service career that spanned 29 years, Denise managed from one to 200 offices, with management responsibility for from 10 to over 10,000 employees, administering budgets from $10,000 to $1.1 billion. Throughout her management career with the BLM, she developed, reviewed and implemented a large volume of new programs, including one of her proudest accomplishments, the reintroduction of condors to Arizona in 1996. She had leadership involvement in a number of federal programs related to recreation and tourism, lands and minerals management, wildlife and range land management, wild horses and burros, and information technology.

Denise has been publicly recognized for her contributions to numerous minority organizations and non-profits. Her minority affiliations include the Greater Phoenix Black (the first President in 1998), Arizona Hispanic, and Tucson Black and Hispanic Chambers of Commerce; the Community Alliance for Black Student Support at Arizona State University (founder), Arizona Black Board of Directors, and The Leadership Consortium (current CEO). Her non-profit affiliations have included such well known organizations as The Girl Scouts (AZ Cactus Pine Council Board), The Society for American Foresters, Partners Outdoors (a national recreation association), Cornell College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Advisory Council, and the Cornell University Board of Trustees.

Currently, Denise is President and CEO of Denise Meridith Consultants Inc., a consulting firm specializing in community and public relations.