Rie Merritt has been working with SQL Server since 1999, when she started as a data analyst for a non-profit. She has worked in many industries over the years including pharmaceutical, e-commerce, legal, financial, education and both federal & state government. She is currently Principal PM Manager with Microsoft Azure Data, serving as the Influencers, Community & Events lead. She is liaison between the product group and Influencers, User Groups, MVPs & Super Users, and her team owns the FabCon workstream for Engineering.

Over the years, Rie has done extensive work with the Data Community. She was an MVP in the Data Platform for three years, speaking frequently at conferences across the US and moderating webinars, WIT panels and career panels. She has also served co-leader of the Women in Technology Virtual Group and Executive Director of SQL Saturday Atlanta and currently leads the Atlanta Azure Data User Group. She is based out of Redmond, but works remotely from her home near Atlanta.