Marisa Diaz-Waian is community philosopher, educator and Founder & Director of Merlin CCC. A “generalist” by nature, training, and practice, she has an M.A. in Philosophy from San Diego State University (Summa Cum Laude), serves on the board & education committee for The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization, and is a speaker for Humanities Montana.

She is also an NEH scholar, has philosophical practitioner credentials in Logic-Based Therapy, is a volunteer for the U.S. LBT Institute of Critical Thinking & the National Philosophical Counseling Association, a published author and co-author of numerous scholarly works, and an (occasional) Adjunct Philosophy Instructor at Carroll College in Helena, MT.

Born in Santa Monica, CA, Marisa was a high school & collegiate scholar-athlete. She spent the majority of her formative years along the coastlines of Southern & Northern California, exploring tidepools, playing basketball and volleyball, body surfing, and getting into good-hearted mischief.  As she grew older, Ennis, Bozeman & Helena, MT became regular stomping grounds.  Her summers were frequently spent fly fishing, bird watching & “wandering into the great wide open” with her late father (and buddy), Lee. B. Waian.

“The first person to introduce me to philosophy was my poppa. We would spend hours talking shop — holding ideas up against the light of reason, taking them apart & putting them back together again…having fun exploring the terrain. But it was more than just that.  My father was a man who put his (& others’) ideas to the test…who walked the walk….and who showed me (by virtue of who he was) that thought & action (must)  go hand-in-hand…That talk (thought, feeling) is not enough…we must also strive to do & be.  Over the years, the philosophy-seeds that he & countless others in my life have helped to sow & nurture, took shape…ultimately resulting in the formation of Merlin CCC.  I am grateful and elated to be part of such an amazing process…and feel passionately about the power of philosophy to transform & inspire in each of us…grace, humility, beauty & strength.” — Marisa

An active member of the Helena community, Marisa lives off-grid and happily “hangs her hat” at Merlin Nature Preserve, where she serves as its resident-steward.

Marisa has a special interest in ethics & ancient philosophy, as well as existentialism, humor, and “fuzzy” things at the intersection of philosophy and psychology.  (She also really loves wolves, the ocean, art, jazz, basketball, dancing, laughing, reggae, and doing things outside of the box).

Her work focuses on philosophy in the community, across all ages and backgrounds, and frequently involves an interdisciplinary, environmental, and intergenerational bent.

Marisa can be reached at [email protected] or via phone at #406-439-5788 (Cell) or #406-502-2122 (Office).

Mitchell Conway is a Community Philosopher at Merlin CCC, an adjunct philosophy instructor at Carroll College, a branch facilitator/educator at Cottonwood ALC, and serves on the Academic Advisory Board & Questions? journal committee for The Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization.

A student of philosophy, a theater maker, and a teacher who cares ardently about empowering young learners, his work has often been an interweaving of education, story, and inquiry. At the BIRD Theatre in Tottori, Japan, among other productions, he collaborated with Korean group TUIDA to create The Poetry Class about the colonial period and Pacific war; he also directed students at Kei Ai High School in Romeo & Juliet. Using applied theater, he performed with Village Playback Theatre creating improvisations from audience members’ personal stories, and for a three-month residency he taught embodied methods of community dialogue through the Colombo Americano in Medellin, Colombia. He has also taught theater to elementary school students at 82nd St. Academics and middle school students at Summer Institute for the Gifted.

For a year, Mitchell taught at the English Immersion Program in Umphium Mai refugee camp on the Thailand-Myanmar border using a curriculum based in literature and critical thinking. With the New York Foundling at Queens College, he supervised the academic component of The Dorm Project, a program supporting youth in foster care through college.

Mitchell has a Bachelor’s degree in Theater from Skidmore College and a Master’s degree in Philosophy & Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Mitch has recently presented at the North Eastern Philosophy of Education Society (NEPES) and Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO) conferences. He also relishes walking in the forest.

Mitchell helps to facilitate and design several of Merlin CCC’s philosophy in the community programs, including programs for youth.

Mitchell can be reached at [email protected].

David Nowakowski is as a community philosopher and educator in the Helena area whose professional work is dedicated to helping people of all ages and backgrounds access, understand, and apply the traditions of ancient philosophy to their own lives.  A lover of philosophy and the great outdoors, David moved to Helena (originally from Pennsylvania) in 2019 to build his consulting practice and serve as a Community Philosopher & Advisor for Merlin CCC, as well as Senior Mentor for scholars in the Merlin Fellowship Program.

David began studying ancient philosophies and classical languages in 2001, and has continued ever since.  A scholar of the philosophical traditions of the ancient Mediterranean (Greece, Rome, and North Africa) and of the Indian subcontinent, reading Sanskrit, Latin, and classical Greek, he earned his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 2014.  His work has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including Philosophy East & West, Asian Philosophy, and the Journal of Indian Philosophy; as well as in presentations to academic audiences at Harvard, Columbia University, the University of Toronto, Yale-NUS College in Singapore, and elsewhere.

After half a decade teaching at liberal arts colleges in the northeast, David chose to leave the academy in order to focus his energies on the transformative value of these ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions in his own life and practice, and on building new systems of education and community learning that will make this rich heritage alive and available to others.

A hermit by nature and by committed choice, he balances contemplative solitude with his active work in teaching, counseling, and the healing arts.  We are elated to be collaborating with David on our philosophy in the community activities, fellowships, and other Merlin projects.

David can be reached at [email protected] or via his personal website.

Kathleen O’Brien Thompson is the founder & president of Professional Punch Marketing — a full-service marketing & design firm. With over 15 years of diverse experience in business development, marketing, management, professional writing, and client relationships, Kathleen is a skilled developer of broad-based coalitions and an advocate of promoting and doing good in the world.  Analytical and possessing critical interviewing skills developed during her tenure in market research, she specializes in strategic communication consulting and the creation of polished, relevant content.  She has worked with AMLAW 100 firms, Fortune 500 companies, Kellogg’s, American Idol, United Way, Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, RightCare Foundaton, and more.  Kathleen graduated Summa Cum Laude and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English & Communications.  Kathleen can be reached at [email protected].